The Spirit and The Man of Fire
by Stevenson117
Summary: Two Delta Force members with a highly classified and deadly past join Team Rainbow. How will they fair among the best of the best? This story is one of Action, Adventure, Romance, Friendship, Mystery, and Brotherhood
1. Chapter 1: A Walk In The City

**The Spirit and The Man of Fire**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Rainbow Six Siege characters or maps except the O.C.'s**

 **A/N: This is my very first Fanfiction so go easy on me please. If you are going to rude in the reviews just leave or don't say anything in the reviews. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. The classified items in the profiles will be revealed later in the story. Yes the Ballista is a real rifle it's manufactured by FN America. I have worked hard on this since the middle of operation Chimera and I would've had this up sooner but I have revised this story multiple times already which is why it is coming out now. Please notify me if I missed an error some where. Enjoy!**

Name: Harding Fletcher

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 215lbs.

Description: Caucasian, long black hair that goes down to the base of his neck slightly curled at his neck, dark yellow eyes, with a deep burly voice, fairly well toned body, a scar that goes across his right cheek starting from the back of his jaw up to the bridge of his nose. Has thick black stubble on his face.

Date of Birth: [CLASSIFIED]

Place of birth: [CLASSIFIED]

Gadget: FBCD-1 a device that cloaks his entire body to the point he is completely invisible when standing still he is more visible when moving because the cloaking unit doesn't have enough processing power to register and cloak movement on a massive scale. He becomes fully visible when firing his weapon.

Background: Fletcher grew up in [CLASSIFIED], he used to be a well renowned street racer people say that his driving skills were phenomenal. He had to stop racing after multiple law enforcement agencies were looking for him. After he gave up on his street racing career he started becoming a fighter in amateur MMA. When he turned 20 he joined the United States Army and sent through Ranger school he holds the skills of a leader. However his authority issue has caused him to fight tooth and nail for a better rank. He has also only been a squad leader twice in his career despite his ability to lead. He doesn't like to lead unless he is required to. His superiors may not like his attitude on the field or how he performs a task, but they cannot ignore that he gets results. His superiors have granted him the rank of Captain but they have forbade him from going higher in rank. He is mainly instated in a second in command position. He has exceptional skills with a long gun and his exceptional field craft. He was begrudgingly recommended to join the Delta Force, he would only accept the offer if his friend and spotter Mitchell Packston could come with him. His reputation has followed him his entire career and most commanders and other high ranking officers will not work with him unless they are under specific circumstances. It was a long and hard fight for Fletcher and Mitchell to be accepted into the Delta Force. He was put through much more training to earn the title of tier one operator. He specialized in [CLASSIFIED]. He has a strong distrust for the CIA and other intelligence communities. He refuses to filter himself when talking about these communities. Almost every commander he has worked for has recommended him for Rainbow. Mainly to get him out of their hair.

Psychological Profile: Fletcher is not afraid to tell the truth no matter the situation. He is very protective of those he cares about. Especially Mitchell Packston. His authority issue drives from his personal convictions. He has been written up multiple times for this issue. He isn't very open with those around him he primarily keeps to himself. He seems to be afraid to get close to anyone. He is very cautious when he is given intel from an intelligence agency. He will sometimes triple or quadruple check information from these agencies. He has PTSD, episodes are very bad mainly occur in his sleep. Suggest counseling. Packston claims that the PTSD is self inflicted based on the fact that he holds everything in and isn't trusting of people that are around him. He Finds working with tools therapeutic.

Training: Army Ranger school, [CLASSIFIED], SERE

Relevant experience: [CLASSIFIED]

Notes: Most of his files are blacked out

Name: Mitchell Packston

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 205lbs

Description: Caucasian, Short brown hair shaved on the sides and around the back of his head the top of his head has medium length hair generally styled in the front, ice blue eyes, a well-articulated voice, very toned body.

Date of Birth: [CLASSIFIED]

Place of Birth: [CLASSIFIED]

Gadget: Incendiary Grenades, these grenades are custom built to either burn entire rooms or breach reinforced walls, he only carries two of these grenades they are launched out of an M203 grenade launcher that is kept on his assault rifle.

Background: Mitchell was an orphan from birth he went from orphanage to orphanage until he was adopted at the age of ten. He was a trouble maker all throughout middle school consistently getting into fights and stealing, until His freshman year of high school when he met Harding Fletcher who was a year ahead of him in school. Fletcher essentially became his "big brother" and it caused Mitchell to change his ways. Mitchell joined the United States Army when he turned 19 he was sent through Ranger school. His superiors saw that he was very good at improvising and solving problems on the battlefield when things don't go according to plan. They also noticed he had extremely good skills at lock picking and breaking and entering. He also frowned upon by most of his superiors. He will back up Fletcher in every situation and this has caused most high ranking officers to deny him any advancement in rank. he has been stuck as a first lieutenant for many years. He was offered and accepted into the Delta Force alongside Fletcher. Mitchell was put in the same unit as Fletcher after being accepted into the Delta Force. He specialized in [CLASSIFIED].

Psychological profile: Mitchell does not like to talk about his life before high school. He can get impatient at times which can cause problems but is a very controlled individual overall. He is also very good at manipulating people. He blends in very well in social events no matter what type of people are around him. Unlike his counter part he is fairly high energy and is very friendly to most. Whether he is trusting of those around him is still unclear. He has suppressed some memories as he can't remember things that he had done in recent years according to Fletcher. Uses smoking as a coping mechanism.

Training: Army Ranger School, [CLASSIFIED], SERE

Relevant experience: [CLASSIFIED]

Notes: Mitchell and Fletcher are inseparable on and off the battlefield, most of his files have been blacked out

Side note for both operators: They have a stellar good guy bad guy interrogation technique. Both have extensive training in psychological warfare. Past C.O's (commanding officers) begrudgingly give high praise for the both of them. Both have worked specialist Jenson

 _ **Chapter one: A Walk in the City**_

 **May 1, 2018 0600 hours classified Forward Operations Base "Specter" Ramadi, Iraq**

It was a warm day in Ramadi, Iraq as the Arabian sun started to peek over the horizon. Troops were moving all over the forward operations base with idle talk and camaraderie. It was peaceful even though terrorist were still in the city. A runner was sent to one of the trailers that the soldiers called home. A few knocks on the door and a reply

"it's open"

the runner entered the living quarters. The runner looked at the two men

"General Boyer wants to see First Lieutenant Packston and Captain Fletcher"

both stood up and nodded "thank you" said the Captain

The two men walked to the center of the base to meet with General Boyer

"I wonder what the old man has planned for us" Mitchell said with curiosity

Harding looked over and smiled "I bet we are keeping the peace" he made quotation marks in the air.

Mitchell looked at him and laughed some "smart ass"

they walked into the general's office and both saluted him before going at ease

Boyer looked at them "Good Morning gentlemen. You two are going on an intelligence and possible assassination mission we have received word that there are two high ranking ISIS leaders meeting with a White mask leader to join the White mask organization"

Harding let out a frustrated sigh "I'm getting tired of these ass wipes why the hell can't the C.I.A just find the HQ and nuke it?" Mitchell nodded in agreement.

Boyer gave a serious stare and replied "target location is this hotel, I understand your frustration and I know it's been a long tour but we have to do it." he slides a picture of the hotel across his desk "We don't know what to expect for security or ground troops from the other side so be ready for anything, the meet is at 15:00hrs"

Mitchell looked at the picture "So C.I.A is putting this on huh? Are there any dossiers on the targets?"

"Yes C.I.A gave us this intel and no there are not any dossiers dismissed gentlemen" Boyer replied

Mitchell and Harding replied in unison "yes sir" they saluted the general then walked to their living quarters so they could gather their gear

"what do you think I should take? The M40A5, the Barret, or the Ballista?" Harding looked to Mitchell for a reply

Mitchell thought to himself then responded "take the Ballista, If I were you I would also take the MDR as well"

Harding nodded and grabbed both rifles off the wall above his bunk and loaded them he pulled out his Kimber 1911 chambered in 9mm loaded and holstered it, Mitchell grabbed his ACR and mounted the grenade launcher on the weapon he pulled out a Berretta M9 and loaded it after both soldiers had their gear on and ready to go they got in the Humvee with Harding driving

"just like old times right Mitch?" Harding smiled referring to a past mission

Mitchell nodded with grin on his face "Only I remember you almost jumping out because your dumbass thought it would be a good idea to have a couple of drinks in the morning, and you wanted a jar of dirt like Jack Sparrow" Mitchell smiled

"hey, at least I don't get stuck in trees every time we have to air drop in somewhere." Harding smiled at his true statement. They both laughed reminiscing over old times.

 **30 minutes later Downtown Ramadi**

They parked the Humvee in an alleyway behind an apartment complex a few blocks away from the target building Mitchell and Harding made their way to the 5th floor

"we will set up here" Harding said as he entered one of the apartments.

Mitchell nodded and he went out into the hall and set up trip wires and he put C4 into the walls and a few in the ceiling as the building was completely abandoned. Harding grabbed the table in the room and set it up in front of the window. He hung up sheets from the ceiling close to the table to cover the muzzle flash and he adjusted the curtains so the hotel could be seen by only him and Mitchell.

Mitchell walked back in "no one is going to be able to get to us from the hall way" He smiled.

 **1400 hours, Ramadi**

"here put these on the windows so we can hear everything that is being said" Mitchell said as he handed Harding listen devices that could be shot out of a rifle Harding loaded the devices into his magazine and he shot them on to the hotel windows the every device sounded like a suppressed round even though there was no suppressor attached to the rifle.

"Listening devices are set" Harding said

Mitchell pulled out a tablet and activated them. "It sounds like there is a security force inside the building already." Mitchell said listening to the guards talk amongst themselves.

"Let's hope these assholes show up." Harding said scanning the building through his scope.

"Hey Mitch you see that second floor center window?" Harding said looking through his scope.

Mitchell grabbed his bino's (Binoculars) and looked through the window.

"What the fuck is that thing?" Harding asked

"it kind of looks like the bombs recovered from Bartlett." Mitchell replied.

"What the hell is that doing here? E.O.D should have destroyed those after they were defused." Harding said

"Call it in" Mitchell replied.

"Baseplate this is Reaper 0-1 we have a possible chemical weapon on site asking for orders." Harding called over the radio

"Reaper 0-1 C.I.A has confirmed that this is just a shell no chemicals are inside proceed with previous tasking orders." Boyer replied

"Roger 0-1 out" Harding took his left hand off the radio and put it back on the rifle

"How would the C.I.A be able to confirm that?" Mitchell asked not taking his eyes away from the binoculars.

"I don't know, I just hope this isn't a setup" Harding replied.

 **1430 hours F.O.B Specter**

Meanwhile back at the base a Special chopper flew in and landed with the director of Rainbow stepped out and made her way over to General Boyer's office showing ID to all of the guards Boyer was sitting at his desk as he got an important message from the secretary of defense. He looked up from his desk to see the director of team Rainbow

"well you are the last person I would expect to show up here in this hell hole, what can I do for you miss?" Boyer asked intrigued

Six replied bluntly "I understand you have two Delta Force members under your command I would like to speak to them"

Boyer chuckled _"very blunt" he noted to himself_ "yes I do have two Delta Force members under my command but they aren't here right now they should be back soon. Are you sure that they are the ones you want?"

"Yes I'm absolutely sure why might you ask that?" Six replied intrigued "how much of their files have you read?" Boyer asked "the parts that haven't been blacked out, why are you asking so many questions?" Six asked.

Boyer turned to his assistant "Corporal you need a cup of coffee" "yes sir" the corporal said hastily and he ran out of the office

"I'm asking so many questions because they are what's left of one of the most effective Delta Force teams which was Reaper team"

Six cocked her head in confusion "but they all died"

"that's what a lot of people thought. But the demolitionist and frontal assault guy made it out. D.O.D (department of defense), N.S.A (national security agency), and the C.I.A put them under my command to keep them in line and covert" Six looked at him intrigued.

At the forward command tent a voice cut through on the radio "Baseplate this is Reaper 0-1 we have confirmation that Farid Razar and his brother Zark Razar are on site asking permission to take out the targets" Harding said

"roger that 0-1 you have permission to take out the targets" Major Addison replied "Roger 0-1 out"

 **Apartment complex Ramadi**

Harding lined up the shot on the brothers. "Mitchell give me the wind speed and distance"

"Targets are 1,000 yards wind speed 5 knots give a 2 ½ mil lead window is 2ft wide fire when ready"

Harding adjusted the scope. He took three large breaths and exhaled then fired taking the brothers out with one shot

"targets are down we need to get out of here before all hell breaks loose" Mitchell said packing up his gear Harding got up and he put his Ballista on his back and he loaded his Mark 11

"let's move we don't have much time" Harding said

They ran to the door and a flurry of bullets struck the door frame causing them to stumble back.

"FUCK" Mitchell yelled

he fell to the floor kicking the door shut. Harding put the couch against the door.

"We have to take the express elevator" Harding said as put his MDR on his back

"fuck I hate it when we do this" Mitchell said as he took steps back with Harding

They sprinted and jumped out the window down to a roof close by they rolled a few times

"go to the next building I'll cover you" Harding said

He cloaked himself and stood up while taking out two white masks before taking cover behind a roof access and returning fire.

"MITCHELL BLOW THE CHARGES!" Harding yelled as he took cover behind the roof access and reloaded.

Mitchell nodded and detonated the C4 the entire floor of the complex was destroyed. The entire city seem to fall quiet as the building creaked at the breeze of the wind and there was a loud snap. Harding and Mitchell looked at the building in awe wide eyed and the top of the building began to fall in their direction

"SHIIIIT, RUUUUUNNNN!" Mitchell yelled as they both sprinted as fast as they could they jumped from rooftop to rooftop. At the last building on the block they dropped down and ran inside of the house as apartment complex collapsed on top of the house.

 **F.O.B Specter**

Six and Boyer were talking about team Rainbow and the CTU's involved, Boyer's Major came with a sitrep

"sorry to interrupt sir but we have situation."

Boyer looked up "What is it Major Addison?"

"Your team just dropped an apartment complex in the middle of city."

Boyer let out a stressed sigh "do we still have radio contact?"

"No sir we don't we are currently working on it"

"get it done and tell them to RTB the minute you reestablish communications. Get a Blackhawk airborne looking for them"

"yes sir."

After the Major left Boyer ran his hands over his bald head. "That's the third one this month"

Six looked at him "general I can't have people dropping buildings in my organization-"

Boyer cut Six off "This only happens when they need an escape or their hide was discovered and they didn't expect it because they always set up C4 and homemade tripwires to keep their hide safe but if you tell them not to set up counter measures they won't just give them a chance."

Boyer looked to Six who kept a serious look on her face.

 **1500 hours Downtown Ramadi**

Mitchell and Harding got up off the floor coughing

"Get your mask on there was asbestos in the building" Harding said

reaching into his pack pulling out a mask that covered the lower half of his face which was a 3M 5000 series half facepiece respirator. He strapped it on as Mitchell did the same even the mask was the same. They walked out into the street that was covered in grey dust so thick it even blotted out the sun.

"Mitchell we need to find a vehicle" Harding said with his voice slightly muffled by the mask.

Mitchell nodded as they slowly walked the street not hardly being able to see two or three feet in front of them they walked slowly guns drawn. The city was so quiet a pen drop could be heard for miles.

Mitchell walked alongside Harding "I thought no one could sneak up on us?" Harding asked keeping his eyes forward

"well no they shouldn't have been but they must have found a way around the trip wires" Mitchell replied

He ran into something metal "Fuck, hey I found us car" Mitchell said slightly surprised

Harding whipped around and squinted to see the outline of the car he saw a turret on the back "shit you found technical good find get on the gun" Harding said

Harding got in the driver's seat and Mitchell on the turret. The gears grinded on the truck as it was a stick shift and low on transmission fluid

"fuck dude they didn't put transmission fluid in this bitch, come on get into gear."

Harding said as the truck lurched forward hard and they sped out of the alley and there were White masks were everywhere listening to Harding and Mitchell talk just as they sped the White masks opened up with gun fire coming from every direction bullets were ricocheting off the steel plating as the sound of Mitchell on the turret could be heard for miles

"FUCK! HOW MANY OF THESE ASSHOLES ARE THERE" Harding yelled while cycling through the gears of the truck. Bullets were whizzing past Mitchell's head as he kept firing on the rooftops and the vehicles behind them. One of the white masks got lucky as a shot landed in Mitchell's left shoulder

"SON OF A BITCH" Mitchell yelled as he held his shoulder getting in the passenger seat through the back window

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

"JUST A FLESH WOUND KEEP MOVING"

Just as Mitchell finished climbing in Harding gave him his handgun and Mitchell returned fire through the window of the technical. They got out of the dust cloud after 10 minutes of being chased. The Black hawk flew over just as they left the cloud of dust

"Xavier 1-1 to base we found them they are on their way back home they have multiple pursuers and they are in a technical permission to engage?" the pilot asked

"Xavier 1-1 engage targets." Major Addison replied.

The pilot of the Blackhawk looked back at his door gunners "light 'em up"

Harding and Mitchell were too busy watching the road to notice the chopper. The door gunners let the mini guns loose on the White masks

"eat shit fuckers" a gunner yelled as he unloaded the mini gun. Harding and Mitchell smiled at the chopper as they made their way back to base. With chopper giving them covering fire.

 **1540 hours F.O.B Specter**

Harding and Mitchell walked in Boyer's office in their combat gear that was black now a grey from the dust of the building with their masks still on. Harding was helping Mitchell with his shoulder wound by holding gauze pads in both of his hands as he used his left hand to cover the exit wound and his right to cover the entry wound he applied pressure to both sides of Mitchell's shoulder they sat down in two chairs.

"Was it necessary to drop the building?" Boyer looked at them with frustration.

"Our hide was discovered and White masks were waiting for us I didn't know he used that much C4" Harding replied and looked at Mitchell slightly aggravated.

"Well you completed the mission and you took out the two of the most dangerous ISIS leaders so the positives outweigh the negatives so I'm not going to reprimand you, Gentlemen I would like for you to meet Director Six."

Six stood up and held her hand out to Harding and Mitchell. Harding looked up at her and rolled his eyes

"my hands are kind of full right now" Harding said shaking his head

Mitchell held out his right hand and shook her hand "I'm Mitchell and that's Harding, what would you like to speak to us about?"

before Six could say anything "hey lady could you do me a solid and reach into the ankle pocket of my right leg and pull out the canister?" Harding asked

He moved his leg out so she could reach it easier. She pulled it out and inspected it as it looked like a small can of WD-40 and handed it to him.

"Might I ask what's in the canister?" she asked

"I could tell you but then I would have to kill you." Harding said as he attached a clear straw to the nozzle of the silver unmarked canister.

Six smiled in mild amusement as that was what Smoke said to her during his recruitment interview.

"I'm just messing around it's actually a foam that seals up wounds and naturally decays as the body heals and after the skin has seals the wound. Mitchell this is going to hurt like a bitch are you ready?" Harding said putting the nozzle at the entry wound after taking off the gauze from both sides.

Mitchell nodded and took a few large breaths and held the arm of the chair. Six was watching very intrigued Harding sprayed the foam in the wound

"FUUUCK" Mitchell screamed out

The foam slightly stretched wound after Harding finished tears were coming out of his eyes and he was breathing heavily. "What did you want to talk to us about?" Mitchell asked between breaths and wiping his eyes.

He and Harding took off their gas masks and helmets revealing a dirt outline around their jaw from where the mask was.

"I would like to offer you two a better job and you can work on a more global scale taking out terrorist threats and you can save more lives. You will also have access to the world's most cutting edge tech."

 _"Oh, great another job from some damn agency spook this worked out so well for us before" Harding said to himself sarcastically._ "Yeah ok what are the downsides? And does this job have name?" Harding asked more intrigued but still somewhat doubtful

"It's team Rainbow and there are no downsides and there is a pay increase" Six said in a serious tone

Harding and Mitchell looked at each other as if they were telepathically communicating. They both looked at Six and back at each other. Harding nodded with a sigh knowing Mitchell would want to go join the team that cleaned up Bartlett.

"We will join" Mitchell said with some joy

Six smiled "there will be a helicopter ready to take you to a private plane and take you to Hereford when you are ready I have other places to be so I will see you gentlemen later." She walked out

Boyer smiled and stood up and shook their hands "Well gentlemen you won't be taking orders from me anymore. But if you need anything give me call. Now both of you behave and don't cause too much trouble"

Harding and Mitchell smiled "you know us we don't get in any trouble" Harding said sarcastically

Boyer smiled his face then went serious "but watch your backs and do try to be open minded I know people have offered you jobs like this before and it didn't end well for you two but this organization will change your lives. You both deserve something better after all these years of being a hit team for the U.S government, now go enjoy yourselves" Boyer said with a smile at the end.

"Thank you, sir for everything that you have done for us." Mitchell and Harding smiled and gave their General one final salute before walking out.


	2. Chapter 2: FNG

_**Chapter 2: FNG (fucking new guys)**_

 **A/N: My characters will seem O.P. in this chapter I promise they will not be like this thought the story. Please notify me if I missed anything such as errors. Constructive Criticism is welcomed. Have made some changes from the original post thank you for the reviews.**

 **May 2, 2018 Hereford Base 0800**

"All Rainbow Call signs there will be a meeting in the briefing room at 1000" the P.A echoed through the building

in team rainbows building most of the operators were still waking up, Thermite and Thatcher were in the briefing room. Thatcher dressed in khaki pants and a button up shirt he was leafing through a huge file and shaking his head Thermite dressed in a black FBI t shirt and jeans he let out a yawn then looked to the old man and asked

"What are you looking at there Mike?"

"A couple of recruits that will be coming in Today, you can't read most of the stuff in here" Thatcher replied

"Why not?" Thermite inquired

"It's all blacked out with Sharpie take a look" Thatcher said annoyed.

Thermite looked over the pages and shook his head "do we know who and what they are?" the Texan asked

"Yes they are a sniper and spotter team, the sniper Harding Fletcher and the spotter Mitchell Packston they are from the Delta Force" Thatcher looked to Thermite as Thermite's eyes widened at Delta Force

"Shit, those guys are the best they make the Marines look like kindergarten"

Thermite looked over at Thatcher, Thatcher shrugged as Ash walked in the room wiping her eyes with her hair down, in a basic red t shirt and yoga pants

 _"She is just…beautiful" Thermite thought to himself._

She looked at the table to see the file

"What are you boys reading there?" she asked still tired

"It's a couple of new recruits coming in today" Thermite replied

"Oh, where are they from?" she asked enthused

"from America we are assuming because that was also blacked out from their file" Thatcher let out frustrated sigh after finishing his sentence "why don't you kids get something to eat the meeting doesn't start for a while" Thatcher added

"Alright old man just don't fall asleep in here" Thermite smiled as Thatcher smiled back gave the middle finger.

They made their way to the Mess hall where most of the operators had started eating trying to wake up Thermite and Ash sat at the table with Blackbeard, Valkyrie, Pulse, Castle, Frost, and Buck.

"What is this meeting about today?" Blackbeard said with his hand holding his head up looking at everyone at the table Thermite looked at Blackbeard

"It a couple of recruits coming in today their names are Harding Fletcher and Mitchell Packston" Thermite replied

Blackbeard smiled and chuckled, everyone looked at him with confusion

"what's funny Craig?" Valkyrie asked looking to her teammate

"I worked with them before back in Fallujah they are very good at their jobs and are adrenaline junkies" Blackbeard shook his head remembering past misions

everyone looked at him intrigued

"What do they do?" Frost asked

"They are a sniper spotter team, I'm sure the briefing will cover all the details" Blackbeard said shaking his head in disbelief.

"Yeah their files are almost completely blacked out if that tells you anything" Thermite added as the conversation continued.

"They sound like a couple of pansy asses" Pulse stated

"I bet they would kick your ass" Castle chimed in with a smile.

"Yeah but it would take the both of them to bring me down" Pulse shot back with a smile

"That's a load of B.S. you got your ass kicked by Monika in the C.Q.C training two weeks ago" Buck jumped into the conversation

"Well I don't hit women, so I let her win" Pulse smiled

"Yeah and that's why you were screaming please let me go you crazy bitch" Castle scoffed

"Yes it was all an act"

"Dude you still avoid her like the plague, you obviously terrified of her" Blackbeard chimed in

"Pffft I don't avoid her she avoids me" he shot back

"There is no winning with you is there?" Buck asked

"No there's not" Pulse smiled

They all shook their heads. Ash was staring at Thermite admiring him

 _"He is so handsome." Eliza thought to herself_

Buck noticed Ash staring he smiled big

"What do you think the new guys be like Eliza?" Buck asked changing the subject

Ash was still staring at Thermite not paying attention to the question asked Thermite turned to Ash

"What do you think Eliza?" Thermite smiled

she blush hard "I…I think they will be a great addition to the team" she stammered out while looking away.

Buck laughed softly as everyone ate their meals. Castle felt his phone vibrate so he pulled it out and opened the notification it was a news outlet with a video and the title read "BUILDING COLLAPSES IN DOWNTOWN RAMADI AFTER TERRORIST INFIGHTING"

"Hey what are you looking at Miles?" Pulse asked

"It looks like the masks dropped a building, here look" Castle slid his phone across the table so everyone could watch.

"Fucking savages" Frost said.

Blackbeard paused the video close to the beginning and zoomed in on the rooftop of a building to see a figure dressed in black looking at the building in fear.

"It wasn't infighting look" he kept his fingers on the phone to hold the zoom.

"What is that?" Thermite asked

"That my friend is one of our new recruits" Blackbeard chuckled

"Jesus I thought Shuhrat's cluster charges did a lot of destruction" Ash said surprised.

 **1000 Hereford base**

All of the operators filed in taking their seats and talking amongst themselves as Six walked up to the podium after Thatcher turned on the projector as a picture of Harding and Mitchell appeared on the screen dressed in their combat gear

"As some of you heard we are getting two new recruits Today, I wanted to brief you on them before they arrive the first recruit Harding "Ghost" Fletcher a sniper from the Delta Force, those of you who don't know what the Delta Force is a highly classified regiment of soldiers from the American Army branch they are highly trained and dangerous, Harding here is very skilled a sniper and leader he is also a precision driver, his gadget is a cloaking device that renders him almost completely invisible"

Kapkan turned to his comrade Glaz and whispered to him

"Looks like you have some competition now my friend"

Glaz nodded "Da"

"second recruit Mitchell "Inferno" Packston he is Harding's spotter and closest friend he is also from the Delta Force. His gadget is an incendiary grenade that can be used to burn out a room with fire or to breach a reinforced wall he is very adept at improvised planning on the battlefield and battlefield assessment he has been known to manipulate people to do what he wants. These two are like brothers, combined they have been on over 160 combat missions and countless assassination missions so they know what they are doing. Any questions?" Six looked around the room

Doc asked with his French accent coming in very strong "it says in Harding's psych profile that he has PTSD how bad are his episodes?"

Six calmly looked him "we do not know we will have to find out for ourselves, any other questions?"

Six looked around the room Ying stood up "yeah just how good of a driver is Harding?" she asked with her competitive spirt taking over

"From what I heard he was one of the best drivers in the midwest" Six replied

"We will see about that" she said belittling Harding some.

"Any more questions?"

Thermite raised his hand "Do we have any footage of how Packston's grenades work?"

before Six could reply Blackbeard spoke

"Take Eliza's breaching round but give it your thermo touch and presto you have his grenade, but it burns faster than Yumiko's pellets and slower than your charge and it knocks out entire walls depending where the grenade lands"

Thermite nodded picturing it in his head _"interesting" Thermite said to himself_

"Alright those of you who will pick them up and transport them back here are: Valkyrie, Ash, Blackbeard, and Jackal that is all for today, dismissed."

The operators filed out of the room just as Blackbeard was about to leave

"Craig come here for a minute." Six said

Blackbeard turned around "yes ma'am"

"How do you know so much about these two?" she looked at him.

He sighed and looked at her. "It happened a few years ago in Fallujah me and my team were tasked with extracting a snitch from the city and well the bastard was killed a few days before hand and we didn't know about it. So we expected everything to be normal. We got to the RV point and he wasn't there and it turned out to be ambush so we took cover in a nearby building we couldn't go anywhere as we were surrounded and after a few hours we had little to no ammunition and everyone was wounded and down to our handguns we called for extraction and they said they couldn't send us any. Terrorist were at the door at that point and we were waiting for them to come in and kill us all. But just as the door opened there were explosions everywhere and they seemed appear out of thin air it was Fletcher, Packston, and some guy they called Nomad and they pushed the towel heads back and they had a convoy ready to go and they loaded us up and the next thing I know I'm on a medical bed at base. It was all so spontaneous. What kind of pissed me off is that they used us as bait to push those goat fuckers back."

Six looked at him "interesting, so they used your team as bait for their own ambush"

He nodded "yeah they did but it worked. They stayed on base for a year and we ran a lot of operations together after they patched me up and that's how I got to know them fairly well and their gadgets"

"There were only two when I went to recruit them" Six looked to him for an answer.

"Well the third Nomad was transferred out to a new team out in Moscow then to Bolivia or something like that and they were called something like ghost recon."

"Fascinating, Craig you are dismissed" Six walked away and he shrugged and walked out.

 **1200 Hereford base**

Ash, Valkyrie, Blackbeard, and Jackal were waiting by the tarmac for the plane to land everyone was propped up against the SUV.

"I hate waiting for people to show up just it's so boring" Valkyrie stated with a sigh

"Yeah but it's a part of the job Meg" Ash added

"Still though I would much rather do anything else" Valkyrie's voice trailed off as she started looking through her phone

"That must be them there" Blackbeard pointed to the plane that just finished landing and stopped and the cargo doors opened.

They all watched intently waiting to see the recruits Harding was the first to step off dressed in jeans, a deep brown leather jacket with a black t shirt underneath, black tennis shoes, aviators, and a ball cap with two duffel bags. Mitchell followed close behind dressed in jeans, work boots, a black hoodie with the hood down, and a black sock hat. Harding and Mitchell walked over to where everyone was standing

"The must have scraped the bottom of the barrel if Craig is here" Harding said with a smile and shook hands with Blackbeard

"At least don't have dick stuck in the ground like you two ground pounders" Blackbeard chuckled

"Its damn good to see you Craig" Harding said and Mitchell nodded

"It's good see the both of you again" Blackbeard smiled

"So are you going to introduce us or what?" Mitchell asked

"Where are my manners this is Eliza "Ash" Cohen, this here is Meghan "Valkyrie" Castellano, last but not least Ryad Ramirez Al-Hassar call sign Jackal" Blackbeard smiled

"I'm Harding Fletcher call sign Ghost, this here is Mitchell Packston call sign Inferno" Harding and Mitchell shook hands with everyone

before piling in the SUV and heading back to the main base.

"So where are you guys from?" Ash asked

"That's classified" Mitchell said quickly.

Ash was a little upset with his answer but she understood why he could not say.

"We are Americans if that's what you're prying at" Harding said with a smile

 _"He and his voice are handsome damn" Valkyrie said to herself with a smile referring to Harding._

"What side of the country my friends" Jackal asked

"The Mid West" Mitchell said with a laugh

"That doesn't answer my question Amigo"

"It wasn't supposed to" Mitchell grinned

"I'm sorry we can't be more open about things, but we are not at liberty to tell you anything about our past aside from the recent years" Harding chuckled.

"Seriously?" Valkyrie asked

"Seriously" he replied with a serious tone

Once they arrived at the main base 15 minutes later Blackbeard escorted Harding and Mitchell to the armory as the other ops disappeared into the base

"Drop off your weapons and gadgets here" Blackbeard pointed to the lockers

Harding nodded pulling out and assembling his MDR and Ballista. Harding also pulled out a MTAR-21 assault rifle that was painted in crimson red with gold accents the paint was badly worn and there are tally marks in sliver that cover the stock of the weapon.

Blackbeard looked at Harding "What the hell is that thing?" Blackbeard asked pointing to the MTAR

"It's the gun I used way back in the day, I used it to pull you and your team out of Fallujah" Harding smiled and put his things in his locker

Mitchell put his grenades in the top shelf of his locker with his ACR, M4A1 Soapmod, and an M16 in the bottom section

"Jordan and Yumiko would love to hear how those things work" Blackbeard referred to Mitchell's grenades

"Who the hell are they?" he asked

"You will meet them soon" Blackbeard replied

"Hey Craig where are we sleeping?" Harding asked

"That's where we are going next follow me" Blackbeard replied

They walked past the rec room Mute was on his laptop not really paying attention to who or what was around him. Dokkaebi was also at the table but on her tablet. Lion and Montagne were playing poker. Zofia was texting her husband from the sofa.

"This is the rec room we hangout here after missions or if we decide to have a party there are snacks in those cupboards and alcohol is permitted just you can't hammered during the working hours of 8-5." Blackbeard said looking to them

"I thought regulations would be more strict" Mitchell said looking at the room in slight amazement

"Well we are the best of the best so there is some leeway, I'll show you to your quarters" Blackbeard responded.

The three traveled to the second floor "this now your home so please for the love of god do not trash the place" Blackbeard smiled

"Wait you mean we can't have demolition experiments in here" Harding replied with a smile

Mitchell shook his head "You better not because remember Fallujah when you two accidentally set off all the flares with a Cigarette bud and you nearly destroyed the camp with an explosion because you didn't pay attention." Mitchell said with a slight smile

Blackbeard scratched the back of his head "look it's not my fault that the Grunts were in such hurry that they left an open box of flares outside of the tent." He said defensively.

Harding chuckled remembering Blackbeard's face when the first flare went off. They dropped their stuff off inside their rooms.

"Let's go to the mess hall I bet you guys are starving after your flight" Blackbeard said changing the subject and waved his hand signaling for the two to follow him.

They arrived in the mess hall both Harding and Mitchell were basically drooling at the sight of real food as they have been eating MREs for the past few months Blackbeard caught on to this and smiled

"I'm guessing you guys haven't had real food in a while"

"No we haven't we seriously just got pulled out Ramadi yesterday and we haven't had real food in a few months" Harding said with his mouth watering at the burgers being served

Blackbeard laughed as they gathered their food and they all sat down at a table together.

Valkyrie walked in grabbing a tray of food and sat with Harding, Blackbeard, and Mitchell.

She smiled at them all "hello boys has Craig here given you the tour?" she asked

"So far he has. This place is huge I thought it would be tiny." Mitchell said taking a bite out of his burger.

She chuckled some "where you guys before this?" she asked curiously

"Ramadi" Harding replied

"I'm so happy that we are not in the sandbox anymore" Mitchell added as he lightly messaged his shoulder where he was shot.

"Did Craig ever tell you when he nearly killed someone with a cigarette bud at a F.O.B?" Mitchell smiled

"No he didn't do you care to elaborate Craig?" Valkyrie smiled teasing the bearded man

"We are not talking about this change the subject" he replied quickly.

Harding chuckled "So, where are you from Meghan?"

"I'm from Oceanside California" she smiled some

"That explains a few things" Harding said cryptically

"Explains what?" Valkyrie asked intrigued by the statement

"Oh nothing" he smiled

Mitchell rolled his eyes _"oh great here we go same old song and dance routine" Mitchell said to himself._

Valkyrie was curious by what he meant but she brushed the feeling off "how did you become friends anyway?"

Mitchell laughed "Well we actually met through a big brother program that he was forced to do by his parents and the high school and he was assigned to me and I was a very troubled youth but he beat and talked sense into me" Mitchell smiled

"what do mean by troubled youth did you steal things?" Valkyrie looked at him.

Mitchell scratched the back of his head with his face turning a light red "yeah, but I was a different person then though" Mitchell just ate his food quietly

"I'm sorry" Valkyrie said sympathetically

"Its ok you didn't know" Mitchell said as kept eating Harding patted Mitchell's back comforting him some

Valkyrie felt kind of bad after saying that and she just sat there quietly Ash and Thermite joined them at the table Thermite looked at Harding and Mitchell

"Are you the new guys?" Thermite asked

Ash rolled her eyes and playfully said "No Jordan they are just civilians we let in base"

Thermite turned and smiled "you know what Eliza"

he poked her sides causing Ash to jump at the touch and blushed with a smile.

"Sorry about that, I'm Jordan Trace or Thermite" he shook hands with Harding.

Thermite held his hand out to Mitchell. Mitchell looked at Thermite's hands and saw the chemical burns and was disgusted by it

"I will not touch those nasty ass things you call hands but hello"

Harding bit his lip and looked away to try and keep from laughing. Blackbeard choked on his burger some as he started to laugh. Ash covered the lower half of her face hiding her smile. Valkyrie shook her head with a smile as Thermite was speechless he had no idea whether to be mad or laugh.

"So how are you guys liking your first day here?" Ash asked changing the subject

"well I like it here a hell of an improvement over our last place of living" Harding said with a smile

"it would be better without jet lag" Mitchell added Thermite let out a small chuckle

"where were you guys before this?" Thermite inquired

"well we were in Ramadi before we arrived here" Harding replied after finishing his burger

"oh, has it gotten any better?" Thermite asked

"Fuck no its still bad only now White masks are starting to cause problems it really pisses me off because we almost had the region stabilized but as usual some assholes come in a fuck it all up" Harding said frustrated

Thatcher walked in the room and sat at the table to introduce himself "I'm Mike Baker or Thatcher I'm one of the team leaders here" he shook hands with Harding and Mitchell

"yeah he is the old man here" Thermite smiled

Thatcher shook his head flipped off Thermite who in turn smiled

"You guys are going to start training today in our VR simulator in a few hours so get settled in and get some rest and I will see you in two hours" Thatcher said somewhat seriously before disappearing into the base.

Harding was trying to keep himself nodding off

"you guys can go to sleep I'll get you up when you are needed" Blackbeard stated as both

"I'll be fine" Harding said

"Ditto" Mitchell added

Both were completely unaware that Bandit and Smoke were sneaking up on them with plastic bags filled with air. Blackbeard Thermite, Ash, and Valkyrie all smiled seeing the two sneak up Harding and Mitchell.

"what are you guys smiling at?" Mitchell asked

"nothing" Ash replied

Just as Ash finished her statement, Bandit and Smoke popped their bags making a loud pop. Mitchell felt his heart skip a beat as he jumped out of his seat and struck a fighting stance. Harding's heart also jumped as the adrenaline filled his bloodstream he quickly reached behind him and grabbed Bandit by his jacket and pulled him around and put him in a choke hold.

"Who the fuck are you? huh?" Harding asked sinking his choke hold in really tight around Bandit's neck

"Fletcher let him go he is a friendly" Blackbeard said calmly

Harding released Bandit who grabbed the table for support as he clutched his throat sucking in air and cussing in German

Smoke was crying from at how hard he was laughing. Mitchell relaxed and started to laugh with Smoke. Harding was breathing heavily as the adrenaline left his system.

"I'm James Porter that's Dominic Brunsmeier" Smoke said after getting some breath back

"you guys shouldn't do that we seriously just came out of a war zone you are lucky I didn't just kill you." Harding said with some anger

"you will have to excuse Dominic he does this to every new guy and gal we get" Thermite said with a smile

Harding sat back down as did Mitchell but he had smile on his face. Harding did smirk after he calmed down.

"Jesus I need to be careful around you" Bandit said with a smile

Everyone smiled as the tension faded

"hey Craig what else does this base have in store for us?" Mitchell asked

The adrenaline rush given to Harding and Mitchell snapped them awake.

"Well let me show you" Blackbeard said getting up

 **1400 hours Hereford Base**

Blackbeard showed them the gyms basket ball court, swimming pool and a few of the other rooms before they went to the VR training room. Harding and Mitchell followed Blackbeard to the VR room. Thatcher was standing in the middle of the room

"alright lads you both will be in solo attack ops against the White masks in this simulation. We will start with you Mitchell so get settled in and Harding you can follow me." Thatcher smiled

Harding nodded as Mitchell strapped the gear on. Thatcher and Harding walked into the observation room where almost every op was in the room. Harding stood in the back of the room looking at the screen that was about the size of one in a theater.

Mitchell's character appeared on the screen as he was selecting his loadout. He was wearing all black fatigues with a black ACH Kevlar helmet, ESS profile NVG goggles with black frames and blacked out lenses strapped to the top of his helmet, with a standard issue bullet proof vest only blacked out even his boots were blacked out he had a black baklava. He opted for his ACR with a holographic, vertical fore grip, and a compensator.

"I'll bet he will bite on dust on this." Sledge said aloud.

Harding shook his head quietly with a smile

"Seamus I'll take those odds $100 American dollars" Blackbeard spoke up.

"The bet is on lad" Sledge said throwing down his money on an empty seat.

"Clear the area of hostiles, on chalet" Thatcher said into the mic.

Mitchell loaded in he started droning just get an Idea of what he is up against. After he counted up all of the enemies and started his run. He ran straight to the trophy room window and broke before he jumped in. He gunned down two white masks. He fired one of his grenades into the top of the reinforced wall he waited a few seconds as the grenade to burrow its way into the steal and letting the hunter orange liquid cascade down the wall making the wall look as if it had veins. Just as it exploded he ran right through chalking up three masks in the kitchen.

"Oh great another rusher only with hard breach capabilities" Mira said rolling her eyes.

"It's just like when Eliza rushes only more cancerous" Rook spoke up earning him a dirty look from Ash. Thermite covered lower half of his face to hide the fact that he was laughing.

Mitchell had cleared the first floor he moved upstairs and he heard heavy breathing he slowly turned around to see a bomber he let out a frustrated sigh

"You gotta be shittin' me" He said. Lion chuckled at the comment.

As the bomber ran upstairs and his light turned to orange Mitchell jumped from the balcony into fireplace hall, he then ran to the door and shoulder checked the barricade knocking it down in blow. He turned to the bomber and unloaded a full magazine in the bomber who was slowed but kept coming he pulled out his hand gun and shot the knees of the bomber causing him to fall. Mitchell smiled and executed the bomber.

"What a dumbass" he said shaking his head and reloading both guns.

He ran back inside and he quickly ran upstairs he entered the library he was greeted with a flurry of bullets three struck his vest and he fell to the ground.

"I told you he would bite the dust" Sledge smiled.

"He's not dead, he is just playing the enemy" Harding said calmly from the back of the room.

Sledge looked at Harding then back to the screen. Mitchell was still laying on the floor as four white masks walked up to him thinking he was dead one was about to finish him off. Mitchell quickly grabbed one white mask and pulled him down over his body as the other white mask shot their friend. Mitchell drew his handgun and killed two more of them as the fourth quickly ran behind a bookcase. Mitchell got up and sat behind the exhibit cases as he grabbed a frag off his belt and he cooked it perfectly and threw it behind the book case. The explosion coated the wall and bookcase with blood and gore. Mitchell gave a small smile before running out to the hall as he ran past the small office he fired an incendiary grenade into the office with missing a step in his stride.

"MAKE IT STOP AAAAHHHH" a white mask screamed as he was burned alive.

Mitchell stopped and he deployed his second drone and droned out master bedroom and the bathroom.

"Damn that's five"

He grabbed his last frag and he cooked it before he chucked it into the room he was only able to get one.

"Maximum effort"

He cracked his knuckles and rushed in the room and he took out one right off the draw he pivoted on his heel and sprayed down two he pulled his handgun and pushed the bathroom as he got to the doorway and the white mask pre fired him but every shot struck the door frame Mitchell waited a few seconds and he heard the white mask drop his magazine to the floor. He pushed in and unloaded his pistol mag into the white mask.

Mitchell reloaded his handgun he went to reload his rifle and shook his head

"Fuck one mag left" he said tapping the magazine on his helmet for good luck and slammed it into the rifle.

He descended to the bottom floor he entered the hall in front of the wine cellar and moved back to the small garage and one tapped a white mask that wasn't paying any attention.

"Three are remaining" Thatcher said.

Two white masks pushed Mitchell he gunned them down and heard heavy breathing again.

"Not again"

He readied his rifle as the bomber came around the corner he went to fire and he heard was the click of an empty magazine he ran right at the bomber and he tackled the bomber before the detonator was triggered. Mitchell grabbed his knife and stabbed the arm of the bomber and he ripped the detonator out of the bombers hand and he got up quickly he was about to run to the door in the hall of wine cellar. The bomber grabbed his leg causing him to trip Mitchell kicked the bomber in the face a few times and after the bomber let go Mitchell got clear and triggered the detonator killing the bomber. Mitchell let out a sigh of relief as he got out of the VR gear. He chugged down a bottle of water.

"Fuck that was intense" he said breathing heavily.

"Fuck" Sledge said handing Blackbeard his winnings.

"Nice job lad" Thatcher said

Harding started putting the gear on.

"That shit is almost real" Mitchell stood up.

"Alright Harding get ready for a fight" Thatcher smiled

"Alright old man" Harding smiled as he laid down in the chair.

"Great another one that calls me old can you believe that?" Thatcher shook his head Mitchell chuckled as they walked out.

Harding's character model appeared on screen he was wearing most of the same stuff that Mitchell was wearing except he had a Salt Armour SA Tactical Black Skull Balaclava to cover the lower half of his face he went through his loadout and he took his MDR with an ACOG, vertical fore grip, and suppressor. He took flashbangs as well.

"You have to defuse a bomb in the consulate" Thatcher said.

Harding loaded in and droned out the bombs they were on the top floor. After droned the building he walked to the main entrance while whistling the intro to Whistle by Flo Rida. He broke down the barricade and cloaked himself he walked in. He quit whistling as he got half way up spiral stairs before his cloaking needed to recharge he crouched and readied his rifle he got to he got to the top of the stairs and looked both ways without anyone noticing.

"Jesus could he move any slower." Caveira asked.

Mitchell smiled "he's patient that's why he didn't rush like I did and is moving slow give him a minute."

Harding grabbed a flashbang and tossed it to the left from the doorway atop spiral stairs.

"Why the fuck did he do that." Lion asked

"Just wait guys you will see his plan here in a minute." Mitchell said with a slight chuckle.

Harding cloaked himself and sat on the right side of the doorway. Four white masks walked right past Harding and over to where the flashbang went off.

"He is here somewhere find him." A white mask shouted.

Harding stood up and shot all four of them in the head.

"Very cleaver." Smoke said quite impressed.

Harding did a combat roll behind the desk and took out two more white masks next to yellow stairs. He turned around and he shot one more white mask. He quietly proceeded down the hall towards yellow stairs uncloaked. He cloaked himself as he entered the room on the left side at the end of the hall he took out four more white masks he took out the defuser he punched in the code and it started to defuse the bomb he took a defensive position behind the desk as five white masks tried to rush him he quickly gunned them down. More and more white masks came trying to rush him. He just waited behind the desk and gunned them down as they came in the room. The bomb was almost defused he heard heavy breathing down the hall he smiled.

"Fight me bitch" He gave a small laugh as the bomber charged him.

The bomber was just outside of the door and Harding cloaked himself as he hopped over the desk and slid on the floor with his knife drawn. He sliced the bombers legs as he slid past him Harding stood up behind him and knocked the detonator out of the bombers hands and ripped the bombers oxygen tube off. "Enjoy your death" Harding said as he kicked the bombers detonator away as the bomber slowly suffocated died.

"That was a bit brutal don't you think" Doc said slightly disgusted

"No, they earned it and besides we have all seen Taina do worse things in the interrogation room." Montagne said.

Harding grabbed the defuser and went into the karaoke room with no resistance as they had all rushed him a minute ago. He sat the defuser down and punched in the code. He waited patiently for the rush. The white mask just like last time rushed him with no tactical approach what so ever. He gunned them down without any trouble. As the defuser was almost done another bomber was down stairs and he chucked his last two flashbangs down the stairs the bomber quickly became disoriented and Harding quickly rushed down putting three bullets through the bombers head piece killing him.

"Mission accomplished nice job. Take a five minute break and we will pit you against a team." Thatcher said.

Kapkan, Ela, Rook, Doc, and Vigil were putting on the VR gear.

"We are putting you in a 2v5 situation we don't expect you to win we want see what you are made of when you are against enemies that can think" Thatcher said with a smile.

Harding and Mitchell smiled as they put their gear on all of the other ops watched from a separate room.

Sledge stood up "I bet 100 euros that both of these guys die to a spawn peek"

"I'll take those odds" Thermite spoke up hold up his money

"I'm with Seamus, Brother Kapkan will stop them" Tachanka said handing in his money.

Blackbeard smiled "I'll bet they won't die to a spawn peek" all the money was passed up to Lion who would hold the money for the gamblers.

"Your map will be Kafe. Your mode is secure area" Thatcher said

Everyone was selecting their respective loadouts. Harding went his Ballista with ACOG and his 1911 and frag grenades. Mitchell opted for his ACR his M9 and breaching charges. Harding and Mitchell started droning the building the objective was in train museum.

"Mitchell watch for run out I wouldn't be surprised if they tried it." Harding said.

They spawned in the Christmas market and sure enough Ela opened a window and started spraying Harding and Mitchell took cover behind a building.

"FUCK" Mitchell said

"Cloaking"

Harding became invisible and peeked out and just as Ela was about run from the window Harding one tapped her with his rifle. Blackbeard started laughing "so much for the spawn peek" "pay up bitches" Thermite and Blackbeard held out their hands awaiting their money.

"Target down moving" Harding and Mitchell ran to the wall

"Let's go to the roof I saw a hatch that was over obj we can enter through the skylight and breach the hatch and burn the room." Mitchell said

"Let's do it" Harding replied

They repelled up the wall and they looked into the skylight and saw no one they jumped in only to be greeted by Kapkan from red stairs who downed Mitchell from panic fire not expecting both of them. As Kapkan was reloading Harding quickly charged Kapkan catching him off guard and tackled him to the ground. Kapkan pulled his knife and tried stabbing Harding. Harding backed off and pulled out a tomahawk and a knife

"я иду за тобой" (I'm coming for you) Harding said in flawless Russian.

Kapkan smiled beneath his mask as Harding swung his tomahawk striking Kapkan's right arm

"GAAAHHH Сукин сын" (son of a bitch).

He retaliated by swiping his knife across Harding's left shoulder and up Harding's face.

"AHHHH you're going to pay for that" Harding said with his left eye closed and his face bleeding as it was cut by Kapkan's knife. Harding became very angry and he cloaked himself and he ran around Kapkan in a fury of slashes with his tomahawk he killed Kapkan from behind.

"OH COME ON THAT'S BULLSHIT HE CHEATED" Tachanka yelled causing most of the operators to laugh.

"This is no time for a nap" Harding said as he revived Mitchell.

They made their way to the hatch.

"Blow it open" Mitchell placed a breaching charge and detonated it he quickly fired his incendiary grenades into train museum.

"Ça brûle!" (It burns) Doc yelled at the top of his lungs.

Killing Doc they pushed to the stairwell outside of cigar shop. Vigil waited for them to get to the second floor. Mitchell was on point as Harding was very weak. Vigil opened fire killing Harding. Mitchell snapped around and got a lucky headshot on Vigil. "One health and dream Mitchell" Harding said over the team comms and as Mitchell entered the door way to train museum from the mining room a Kapkan trap went off killing Mitchell.

"FUCK!" Mitchell yelled.

They took off the VR equipment. Kapkan was ecstatic with a huge smile on his face

"Куда вы научились так драться, мой друг?!" (Where did you learn to fight like that my friend?)

"Years of practice and a deep heritage of fighters in my family tree" Harding smiled as they shook hands

"I'm Maxim Basuda or Kapkan"

"I'm Harding Fletcher or Ghost" "I can understand why they would call you a ghost" Kapkan chuckled "come have a drink with me" Kapkan waved his arm for Harding to follow him.

 **1600 hours Hereford Base**

After the VR exercises Harding and Mitchell were hanging out with the Russian ops. They walked into the rec room to a table. Harding walked by one of the sofas in the room he noticed Valkyrie in a navy blue tank top and black workout shorts that stopped at her knees and gripped tightly to her body. She was on her phone as she just finished her workout in the weight room.

 _"Wow, she has one hell of body and those eyes just bore into my soul" Harding said to himself_.

As Harding walked to the table Valkyrie smiled as he walked away. Harding sat down at the card table in-between Kapkan and Mitchell. Glaz and Fuze sat next to each other with Tachanka at the head of the table with Finka next to him.

"So why did you two join team Rainbow?" Fuze asked

"Well we both wanted out of Ramadi and the middle east in general" Mitchell replied

Tachanka lit a cigar.

"Were did you learn to speak Russian?" Kapkan asked.

"Это секретная информация товарищ" (that's classified information comrade) Harding said as he looked at Kapkan.

"Why is most your guy's stuff classified?" Finka asked

"We can't even tell you why it's classified" Harding said as he ran his thumb across a scar on his palm.

"Do you guys drink?" Tachanka asked as he put a bottle of Vodka on the table

"Now that is something we can answer, yeah of course, who do you think we are? A bunch of pansies?" Mitchell said with a smile.

Tachanka chuckled and passed out glasses filled with Vodka.

"A toast" Glaz said as they all raised their glasses

"To the spirit and the man of Fire" Glaz said with a smile and everyone downed their glass of Vodka.

 **2200hrs Hereford base**

Ash and Valkyrie were sitting on the couch in the rec room. Kapkan was passed out at the table from the vodka everyone else was in their rooms sleeping off their buzz. Ash was watching TV as Valkyrie was on her phone

"wWhat do you think of the new guys Meghan?" Ash said looking at Valkyrie

"Well they will be a great addition to the team I think." Valkyrie smiled

"I was thinking the same thing but I was asking about their looks because on the tarmac you were staring at Fletcher like a high school cheerleader looks at a jock. You did the same thing sort of in the mess hall"

Valkyrie started to turn a deep red as she tried to look away.

"Oh I see you have a crush on the new guy huh?" she smiled

"Ok he is rather good looking but I don't know what his personality is like" Valkyrie said with her face still red.

Ash smiled big and shook her head.

"So when are you going to ask Jourdan out?"

Valkyrie asked turning the tables Ash was totally caught off guard by the question and her jaw hit the floor and her face started to turn as red as her hair.

"uhhh I…I don't know" she stammered out

Valkyrie smiled "I'm surprised that you haven't yet with the way you follow him around like a lost puppy."

"Well I'm waiting for the right time" Ash said playing with her fingers and smiling softly at the thought of being with Thermite.

"You know he probably likes you just as much as you like him right?"

"You think so?"

"I'm positive"

Valkyrie yawned "I'm going to bed Eliza today has been a long day"

She walked off to her room as did Ash not to long after Valkyrie left.


	3. Chapter 3: Suspicions

**A/N: I hope you are all enjoying the story so far. Thank you to those who have given me reviews they are much appreciated. Here is Chapter 3 enjoy!**

 ** _Chapter Three: Suspicions_ **

**May 4, 2018 0500hrs Hereford base**

Harding was wide awake as he hadn't been sleeping well due to the fact that he hasn't quiet settled into his new home.

"May as well get up and do something productive, damn it" He said to himself with a yawn, he really just wanted to sleep.

He got dressed in his workout clothes which was a sleeveless shirt, gym shorts, and running shoes. He went to the outside track. A chill traveled down his spine as the cool British air caressed his body. He popped his ear buds in listening to his playlist that started with Mother by Danzig his head bobbing along to the beat as he jogged. He enjoyed the feeling of his muscles straining as he powered threw his run. Half way through his 5 mile run he stopped and turned to the horizon. The sun was slowly cresting over the hills he closed his eyes feeling the soft heat of the morning sun. He smiled as he rather enjoyed watching the sun rise. He had his earbuds out he heard footsteps behind him he turned around to see Jager.

"Nobody beats me out here in ze morning" Jager said somewhat impressed

"Sorry just I couldn't sleep, I'm Harding Fletcher" Harding held his hand out to the German they shook hands. He had seen Jager around base but never properly introduced himself.

"I'm Marius Streicher, I'm impressed I'm generally ze first out here, continue your run by all means"

"Ah, you're the engineer of the magpie ADS" Harding replied

Jager was astonished that he heard of it "yes I am"

"Yeah one of the engineers in my old regiment built one of those after he got a copy of the schematic it saved my friends life, so thank you" Harding said with a smile

"No problem" the German replied.

Harding smiled "I've got 2.5 miles left so I'll finish up my run and you can have track to yourself" he went back to his run

Jager started his run. After one lap for Harding, Jager had already ran two _"damn the one speedy ass mother fucker" Harding noted to himself_

Harding seeing a challenge started to full bore sprint to try and keep up but also finish his run before Jager finished his he managed to pass Jager once. The German saw what Harding was doing so he just took off on a mad sprint leaving Harding behind.

" _They never understand that I am faster than everyone else on this team" Jager said to himself_

Harding ran out steam half way through his last lap and he jogged for the last part of the lap and when he reached the end he was breathing heavily as he watched Jager jog right on by not even breathing hard from what Harding could tell.

" _I'm pretty sure that's Usain Bolt in disguise, Jesus" Harding mentally noted_

Jager stopped at where Harding was and he smiled at him.

"Dude you need a drug test I'm pretty sure you are using performance enhancers. Did you buy some of Dominic's drugs? Shit" Harding said with a slight laugh as he was still trying to catch his breath.

Jager just laughed "No I don't use drugs and Dominic has been clean for years he doesn't sell that shit anymore. I used to run track in high school and I ran the 800 meter. I continue vith my old training routine from that time"

"You are too fucking fast that's why no runs with you, you destroy their self-esteem" Harding smiled.

"Maybe I'm not too fast and everyone else is just too damn slow" Jager shot back

Harding smiled at Jager's arrogance "I'm going to go back inside, it was nice to meet you Flash"

Jager smiled "Nice to meet you too"

Harding walked into the base still baffled at Jager's speed.

 **0700 hours Hereford**

Mitchell finally woke up from his slumber and went to the rec room he was still in his sweat pants and Army t shirt he poured himself a cup of coffee and sat the table. He smelled the coffee just basking in its scent.

" _I can't remember the last time I had a good cup of Black coffee, Russia maybe?" He thought_

He took a sip out of his mug as Frost walked in she was still wearing her black and grey flannel pajama bottoms and a black t shirt she yawned and stretched.

"How is the coffee?" she asked tiredly

"It's black, caffeinated, and warm" Mitchell said

She smiled poured herself a cup and sat with Mitchell.

" _She's very pretty" Mitchell thought_

"Sorry for not introducing myself I'm Tina Lin Tsang my call sign is Frost" she said looking at him

"Mitchell Packston call sign Inferno, it's nice to meet you Tina" he replied

"What do you think of this place so far?" she asked looking him over

"It's very nice and spacious compared to my quarters in Ramadi, it's also nice knowing I won't be shot at in the middle of the night by some terrorist asswipe" Mitchell gave relaxed sigh and smiled

"Yeah that's always nice" Frost smiled

"What's your gadget?" Mitchell asked

Her smile grew "it's essentially a bear trap only slightly modified it's called a welcome mat" she pulled up a picture of it on her phone

"That thing looks like it would hurt like a mother fucker" Mitchell started to rub his shin as if to ease a pain

"Oh it does just ask anyone I have caught every operator at least once, during our training missions of course" Frost giggled

Mitchell gave a nervous look not sure how to respond. _"I hope to god that she is mentally stable" he thought to himself_

"Relax Mitchell just watch your step and you won't have to feel it" she laughed some and touched his arm softly.

Buck walked in the room in and sat with the two "Morning Tina, You must be Mitchell right?" Buck looked to Frost then Mitchell

"Good morning Sebastien" Frost replied happily more awake now that she had some coffee

"Yeah I'm Mitchell, you are?" Mitchell looked to Buck

"I'm Sebastien Cote or Buck" Mitchell and Buck shook hands

"You're the one with the skeleton key right?" Mitchell asked

"Yes I am" Buck responded confidently

"I would love to see how it worked, I would like to mount it on my ACR to give it a try" Mitchell said intrigued

"I would happily show you one day" Buck smiled

"But here is what I don't get, why call it a skeleton key when it literally opens everything it's more of a master key in my opinion." Mitchell smiled softly

"I never thought about it that way that makes a hell of a lot more sense" Buck responded slightly surprised never thinking about it that way

"Maybe they call it a skeleton key because it only opens soft walls, floors, and doors" Frost said

"That is true, but still I would call it a master key" Mitchell said

"I don't know about you boys but I'm hungry" Frost said Buck and Mitchell nodded in agreement and they wall walked to the mess hall.

 **0715 hours**

Harding walked into the Mess hall still in his work out clothes he sat with Mitchell who was accompanied by Buck and Frost.

"Good morning sleeping beauty" Harding said to Mitchell as he sat down

Mitchell shook his head "Where did you go this morning anyway?" he asked out of curiosity

"I got up a 5am and ran a few miles and I have been walking around for an hour or so I'm getting ready to hit the weight room" Harding said happily and energized

Buck groaned "how can you work out that early?"

"I've done it ever since I joined the Delta Force and I enjoy it because it get to watch the sunrise" Harding smiled "I'm Harding by the way you two are?"

"I'm Sebastien Cote this here is Tina Tsang" Buck replied and pointed to Frost

"Nice to meet you two" Harding continued to smile

Capitão sat down at the table "How are you gents settling in?"

"I'm still adjusting it's not every day you go from an active warzone in the middle of a desert that's a eighty degrees when you wake up to a base in an urban area that is fifty to sixty degrees when you wake up" Harding said

"That's understandable give it some time, How about you young man?" Capitão looked at Mitchell

"I'm doing fine" Mitchell replied

"Are you both enjoying it here?" Capitão asked

"Yes it's very neat to meet all of these people with different backgrounds and different countries" Mitchell said with a smile

"I personally love the gyms and the food it has been a long time since I have had a quality work out" Harding smiled "in fact I'm going to hit the weight room" he smiled as he walked off.

 **0815 hours Six's Office**

Thatcher was waiting outside of Six's office as he had few things he wanted to bring up with her. He knocked on the window of her door.

"Come in" she called

Thatcher walked in and closed the door behind him before taking a seat in front of her desk.

"What's on your mind Mike?" she asked not looking up from the forum she was filling out

"It's the new guy's ma'am" He said somewhat sternly

"What about them?"

"I don't know what it is but something feels off about them just the fact that the know Russian. I know I sound a bit paranoid but how many tier one operators do you know that speak fluent Russian. Aside from the Russians" He leaned back into the chair.

"Well Mike I can think of quite a few and Russian is still heavily used in the Middle East to this day and they have only been here two days just give them some time." She looked up at him

"The other thing that bothers me is that both of their files are pretty much blacked out entirely, I know that a few of our operators have some black out flies here and there, hell I have a few of my own there but these guys you can't even read about where they are from and I'm surprised that we even know their names." He let out a sigh "I mean don't get me wrong they seem like good kids but still"

"Mike I understand your frustration, but we need all the help we can get and they are both really talented and are willing to help. I wish I could read about their past as well but the security clearance to read those files goes above my clearance." She look at him calmly

"Wait so you are telling me that you can't read their files" he looked at her

"Yes"

"So you brought two guys on to the team without even knowing about their past? You do understand at how dangerous that is right? They could be taking orders from someone else entirely and be on a whole other agenda from our own." Anger started to come over his voice

"Yes I am aware but they seem to be wanting to start new lives here at Rainbow and from what I can tell. Their last C.O said that they have had a rough past and needed a fresh start. I have my doubts that they are on their own agenda Mike." She replied in a calming tone

He shook his head with frustration "I don't know if I should trust them or not and that's not good for a team. I also want to know what the U.S government is trying to hide from everyone."

"Mike you should trust them they will have your back on the field. I don't think the U.S government has its reasons for blacking out their files and it can't be really bad."

He shook his head "But you are basing everything off of a thought you don't actually know"

"How about we call them up here and hear what they have to say" Six offered him

"I would be ok with that" he said

"Meet back here at 1300 hours" she said before he walked out.

 **1200 hours**

The mess hall was busy as just about every operator was in there Harding and Mitchell were off wandering around the base. Ash, Valkyrie, Capitão, and Thermite were sitting together. Valkyrie was staring off into space lost in thought with her hand holding up her head

" _He is so handsome, I wonder what he thinks of me or if he is even interested. He seems to be interested with the way he acts around me, but I don't know" Valk thought to herself_

Thermite noticed Valkyrie staring off into the distance not even touching her food he looked to Ash and nudged her arm and whispered "what's up with her?"

Ash turned and smiled softly "she has a crush" she said quietly.

Thermite gave a confused look "on who?"

"I can't tell you that you will have to find out for yourself" Ash smiled softly after looking Thermite over

Thermite shrugged but curious of who she had a crush on _"I wonder who she has a crush on it couldn't be Craig could it? I hope to god it's not me because I would rather be with Eliza" Thermite thought._

"Hey Meghan how do you get your cameras to stick to any surface you throw it on" Capitão asked trying to start some conversation Valkyrie was still lost in her thought.

Ash and Thermite watched to see what Valkyrie would say after a few minutes Ash nudged Valkyrie

"Hey Meghan someone asked you question" Ash said trying to get her to respond Valkyrie didn't pay any attention to Ash.

Ash squeezed her sides getting an immediate reaction she let out a high pitched squeal her face reddening by the second

"What do you want?" She asked slightly angered

"Vincente asked you a question and you didn't respond." Ash smiled some and she looked to Brazilian man

"What was your question?" she asked

"How do you get your cameras to stick to any surface you throw them on?" Capitão asked

"There are miniature suction cups that are on the camera and they will stick to any surface I throw them on" She said slightly annoyed

"Ah, I see" he replied

"I've got to go I'll catch up with you guys later" Valkyrie said leaving the Mess hall going to her dorm.

"That was odd" Capitão said Thermite nodded in agreement.

 **1300 hours**

Harding was walking in the hall way between the swimming pool and the basketball court heading to the showers. He stopped and looked through the window of the basketball court the windows went down the length of the hallway on both sides. He smiled as he saw Mitchell in a 3v3 match. He had Blackbeard and Pulse on his team. He was going against Montagne, Sledge, and Lion. Mitchell dunked on Montagne and Mitchell held his arms up flexing.

"Get Good" Mitchell yelled with a smile

Monty just smiled "I let you get by, I'll get you next time."

"Yeah right, bring it on big man" Mitchell had huge smile plastered on his face

" _At least he's making friends, I'm glad we joined I haven't seen him smile like that in a long time not since…"_ Harding thought to himself as his smile faded and he looked the ground

"Something I will never have again" He said to himself out loud but quietly

Valkyrie had finished her swim for the day and she was on her way to the showers as well she still had her swim suit on which clung tight to her body and showed off her legs. She saw Harding in the hallway and she heard him whisper and she walked up to him

"What won't you ever have again?" She asked intrigued

Harding jumped slightly hearing her voice he looked at her. His eyes widened as he looked her over.

" _Fuck she is so hot" he said to himself_

"What won't you have again?" She asked again thinking he didn't hear her

"Oh, nothing just thoughts bouncing around in my head." He said trying to avoid having to answer her question

"You know you can trust me right?" She said looking deep into his eyes

"The last person that said that to me put a bullet in my chest." He looked into her green eyes

She could tell he was hiding a lot of pain by the look in his eyes

"I'm sorry that someone did that to you, but are sure there isn't anything that you want to say or talk about?" she put her hand on the top of his

He yanked his hand away from her hand and gave her a look of slight confusion. "Yeah I'm sure" his voice was sombrous and quiet as he stared at her.

His phone went off and he pulled it out of his pocket and it was a text from Thatcher saying: Come to Six's office ASAP. He looked at in confusion and put his phone back into his pocket.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked looking at him concerned

"No, but Six wants to see me I'll catch up with you later" He started jogging down the hall grateful to get out of the situation.

 **Six's Office 1310 hours**

Harding and Mitchell arrived at her office at the same time.

"Do you know what this is about?" Harding asked Mitchell

"No, I was hoping you knew" he replied

They both shook their heads and Mitchell knocked on the door.

"Come in"

Harding and Mitchell walked in the room at sat in the chairs Thatcher was behind Six's desk leaning against a filing cabinet.

"May we ask what this is about?" Mitchell asked

"It has come to my attention that there are some who feel that you two shouldn't be trusted as your files have been completely blacked out and you might work for or with somebody outside of Rainbow and I want to make sure that you are only working with us." Six said calmly

Mitchell got disgusted look on his face "What the fuck! You really think we would work for someone else outside of rainbow? Seriously we just got here what would we gain by working for someone else? We have been treated like shit our entire military careers why would we go back to work with someone we strongly dislike?" his voice was filled with anger

Harding put his hand on Mitchell's chest holding him in the seat.

"Easy brother." Harding looked to Six "Ma'am we both wanted a fresh start here we wanted to get away from some of our past. We are not working for someone else outside of rainbow I can promise you that. We would gain nothing and lose everything. So you can tell who ever thinks that we can't be trusted that we can be trusted."

"Are only loyal to the free world and this organization?" Thatcher asked looking at the two

Mitchell and Harding replied in Unison "Yes"

"Why wouldn't we be?" Mitchell asked

"People have different reasons" Thatcher replied cryptically

"That's all we needed you can go back to what you were doing" Six said

Harding and Mitchell left the room both went to the showers.

"Are you satisfied Mike?" She looked at him

"For now, I will trust them fully when I can read their files." He replied

 **1500 hours Hereford**

Harding and Mitchell came down to the rec room they sat down on the couch in front of the TV and turned the TV on and Harding turned it to a Barrett Jackson car auction. Mitchell manage to subside his anger as he didn't like to have his loyalty questioned. Valk walked in wearing sweatpants with navy written on the leg with a blue t shirt she sat next to Harding. She could tell his demeanor changed and she didn't want to bring the question she asked him earlier up.

" _I wonder why she follows me around. I mean I don't mind it's nice to have look at something beautiful for a change" Harding thought_.

"What are you guys watching?" Valkyrie asked with a smile

"Oh, just a car auction for a bunch of rich snobs" Harding smiled.

"You like cars huh?" she asked still smiling

"Yeah I do, I don't know what it is about them, they just calm me down and especially working on them and plus they can give a huge adrenaline rush when you go up wards of 100mph" he smiled at the blonde

"So, which do you prefer women or cars?" Valkyrie smiled

"Cars" Mitchell quickly said with a smile

"Shut up Mitchell" Harding said while smacking his arm

"Well it depends on what car and the woman if the woman is like you then defiantly a woman but if she's a bitch and always on my ass I would defiantly take the car" he kept smiling

She smiled back "Which do prefer Mitchell?"

"Easy, women" he replied

"So, what did Six want?" she asked curiously

"She wanted to make sure we only had loyalties to Rainbow" Mitchell said as he could feel the anger start rise again

"Excuse me" Mitchell quickly got up and immediately pulled out his lighter and carton of cigarettes and left the room

"What did he mean by that?" she asked

"He doesn't like having his loyalty question when it's obvious"

"Oh" she responded

Ash and Thermite walked in and sat at the table in the room

Harding looked them and asked "are two like boyfriend girlfriend? Or what?"

Ash and Thermite's faces turned red

"Uh we are just friends" Ash said as the words hurt her to say.

Thermite's heart sank as she said that.

"I think you two would be great together" Harding said nonchalantly and totally oblivious to the feelings they have for each other.

Ash noticed Thermite's demeanor changed.

"Jordan could we talk in private?" she asked

"Sure" he replied with low enthusiasm.

After Ash and Thermite got to a private place Ash was nervously playing with her fingers, Thermite was looking at Ash without his usual smile.

"Jordan I know we are colleagues and friends but, I have had a crush on you ever since we met and I would like to be more than friends" she said nervously and blushing wildly

Thermite smiled _"it's cute when she's nervous"_ he thought

"I have felt the same way just I thought you wanted to be friends and only that so that's why I didn't say anything"

"Seriously?!" she asked with excitement

"Yes seriously" he replied with a smile

Ash smiled big and she put her hands on his face and gave him a deep passionate, fiery, long overdue kiss Thermite put his hands on her waist and pulled her close to him as they kissed. They broke away and she smiled and hugged him like there was no tomorrow she actually didn't want to let go of him they were as happy as they could be. They then disappeared into Thermite's room for a special celebration.


	4. Chapter 4: The Playing Card

**A/N: I have made a loadout change To Harding's weapons instead of a Mark 11 Mod 0. He now has a Desert Tech MDR in .308. I chose this weapon mainly because it's unheard of and is fresh to the market and is a truly unique weapon. It also can be fired in full auto with the .308 shells if I am correct. I have went back and made the changes for the gun in the story already. Here is chapter 4 I hope everyone is enjoying this story so far. Please leave a review. Thank you!**

 _ **Chapter 4: The Playing Card**_

 **May 7th, 2018 Hereford Base**

 **0730 hours**

"Ghost, Inferno, Thermite, Twitch, and Jackal report to hanger one" the PA called out.

Thermite was leaving his room heading to the armory when Ash stopped him only wearing one of his button downs and hugged him tightly

"You better come back" Ash said with slight concern

He smiled and kissed her head "I promise I will be back ok, I will come back to you"

"I love you Eliza"

"I love you too Jourdan, please be safe and careful" Ash looked up to her lover and kissed him one last time before he walked away to the armory

"Are you and Eliza done sucking each other's face?" Twitch asked with a smile on her face

Thermite sighed as he was tired of people picking on him about his relationship. "Do you want to shut the fuck up Emma?"

Twitch laughed

"You and señora Cohen together? It can't be true amigo" Jackal chimed in while checking his rifle over.

Thermite sighed again just keeping his mouth shut as he got his combat gear ready. Harding dressed in black fatigues with his backpack having black Kyrptek typhoon camo, he had no patches on his uniform including his name patch. He grabbed his helmet which was also black, he put on his face mask which was a Salt Armour SA Tactical Black Skull Balaclava, he snapped his helmet on and he grabbed his goggles and his MDR with an ACOG, Foregrip, and a Suppressor. With a set of flashbangs. Mitchell wore a similar uniform except his balaclava is solid black and his goggles are tinted with chrome reflective lenses. He decided to bring his M4A1 soapmod and frags. They all arrived in the hangar in full combat gear and guns in hand

"Good morning, we have a hostage situation in a suburban house in L.A. Law enforcement can't get close to the building so we are going to handle the situation. We dropping you in from a plane there is a high ranking white mask there so do not kill him we are going to interrogate him. The lieutenant has black and red markings on his mask and yes you may wound him but not fatally" Six replied Everyone nodded "get moving" Six waved her hand signaling everyone to get on the plane and everyone got on the plane.

 **Half way point in the flight somewhere over the east coast of America**

Harding was asleep Thermite was reading the book _"rainbow six"_ by Tom Clancy Jackal was trying to sleep but his insomnia was preventing that. Twitch was closely examining her drone

Mitchell had one of his incendiary grenades out and he was tossing it from hand to hand Thermite marked his page and he looked to Mitchell.

"Hey Mitch, how do you get your grenades to burn out rooms and breach walls?"

Mitchell smiled "well I have a special segment on the bottom of the grenade that contains the breaching elements so if I wish to breach a wall I screw it on to the bottom of the grenade it contains the metal oxide for the thermite mixture. If I don't screw that on it works similar to an airburst explosive which causes the flames to be evenly distributed"

"Interesting, how did you come up with the idea for those?" Thermite asked

"It was a few years ago my team needed something to punch through anything that had steel reinforcements and we needed a crowd control device. So I though why not have something that does both and I thought of an airburst explosive and at how easily it can rack up a kill count. Then I thought of the thermite grenades and at how they melt steel so I found a way to have both and this was the solution." He continued to smile

"So how did Harding's cloaking unit come about?" Twitch asked

"Classified, but he didn't build it if that's what are trying to ask" Mitchell replied

"How does it work?" she asked

"I have no idea you will have to ask him. I don't think he even knows"

She started to think on ways that the device would manage to work. Jackal perked up

"How did you two get your call signs?" Jackal asked

"I can tell you how I got mine but Harding's has classified information out the ass. I don't even know how he got it." Mitchell lied as he didn't want the team to view Harding differently

"But anyway Harding and I were assisting with a raid on a terrorist hideout with a Ranger division and I only had my grenades in a prototype phase at this point and the raid was going according to plan and well a few terrorist thought they could escape in a car and well I fired the grenade at the driver's side door and it turns out when the grenade left the chamber the thermite mixture started to burn and it started to mix with the Airburst chemicals. The grenade cut straight through the door of the car and the airburst delayed thanks to the thermite and well the airburst detonated inside of the car burning everything and everyone inside. E.O.D teams had to make sure there wasn't a bomb in the car after it had already burned and they claimed that my grenade had to burn at around five thousand degrees Fahrenheit in order to do the damage it did."

"Shit" Thermite said in amazement

"After that everyone called me inferno" Mitchell smiled

Everyone chuckled

 **Los Angles, California 1230 hours**

"One minute to drop" The pilot shouted

Everyone was getting their parachutes and breathers on.

"Mitch don't land in a tree this time" Harding said with a smile behind the mask

"I won't try to" Mitchell shot back

"Why do you have to tell them that?" Twitch asked

"Because every time we have air dropped he had landed in a tree or something like that" Harding smiled

"Oh"

"Twenty seconds to drop" The pilot shouted as the cargo door opened

"Five seconds"

Harding and Mitchell smiled "see you down there" Mitchell said as he ran out and jumped

Harding ran out of the plane at top speed "HELL YEAH" Harding shouted at the top of lungs as he jumped.

" _That's just what we need adrenaline junkies"_ Thermite said to himself

The rest of the team jumped. They landed safely on the roof of the house except for Mitchell

"God Damnit every fucking time" Mitchell said as he was stuck in a tree next to the garden he couldn't reach the release button

Harding chuckled "do you need a hand little brother?" he asked over the comms

"No I don't" Mitchell replied angered

He slipped the buckle loose on the harness a fell to the ground with a hard thud.

"Dude you need to stop trying to be one with nature you are never going to become a tree" Harding smiled beneath his balaclava

"Shut up" Mitchell said with light anger

"Cut the chatter" Thermite said

Twitch threw her drone and started scanning the build for the hostage as everyone else got their weapons ready.

"Hostage is in the garage I can't get a bead on the HVT" Twitch said

"Ok Ghost you go to the tree house and clean out the hall way and master bedroom while we clear the rest of the rooms on the second floor, I will open a hatch that goes to the training room and we all meet up there for a final push. Harding after you clear the second floor meet up with us on the first floor. Inferno clean out what you can from the first floor. Jackal enter through the bathroom on the second floor. Twitch take out all the cams and electronics you can then enter through the unfinished room. Use your suppressors people" Thermite stated

Everyone nodded and repelled off the roof. Harding climbed to the top of the tree house he gunned down two white masks in Master bedroom.

"Two down master bedroom I can't tell if there are more in there or not Jackal." Harding said as he kept scanning for more targets

Mitchell pushed in through the office "office is clear, moving to kitchen" Mitchell said over the radio.

Jackal entered through bathroom and quietly took out three masks "scanning for footprints" He walked to the doorway and scanned the only set that left the room. "There is one down in the garage I think it's the HVT"

"Roger that watch your fire down there" Thermite said as he cleared the kids room

Twitch used her drone to push the terrorists out of the walk in closet for Harding pick off. She pushed into the unfinished room. "Workshop clear"

"I'm going to head to the living room second floor is clear" Harding said

"I already got it brother first floor is clear" Mitchell said

Everyone moved into the living room.

"Alright Ghost and Jackal push down laundry get it clear before we go loud. Inferno get the airburst ready. Twitch put a breaching charge on the hatch." Thermite commanded

"Let's get to work Spaniard" Harding smiled

"Alright yanqui" (Yankee) Jackal fired back as they walked down the steps

Harding and Jackal pushed down the steps slowly the door to the weight room was barricaded but the one to laundry was not they stacked on the door.

"I'll go first be ready to push in behind me" Harding said before cloaking himself and walking into the room

He killed one mask. His cloaking unit deactivated and Jackal pushed in and assisted with the last three in the room.

"Laundry is clear Amigos" Jackal said

"Fire the charge" Thermite said

"Breaching" Twitch said as the breaching charge exploded

Mitchell fired his grenade into the room there was a loud blast followed by a heat wave that could felt in the living room. The masks in the room screamed as they were bathed in fire. They dropped hatch and Thermite immediately set his charge on the wall that divided weight room and garage.

"REALLY BIG FUCKING HOLE COMING RIGHT UP!" Thermite yelled as his charge burned through the reinforcement

Harding and Jackal pushed into the garage the entire team was in sync as they took down the masks with no issue.

"CLEAR!" Harding yelled before putting his MDR on his back

Everyone lowered their guns

"Where is the hvt?" Mitchell asked

"I thought he was down here but I guess I tagged someone else" Jackal said shrugging his shoulders

"Get the hostage topside and ask for extraction. Fan out and look for this fucker" Thermite commanded

Harding went outside to make sure that the lieutenant wasn't hiding in a police car. Mitchell took the hostage upstairs and untied him. Twitch and Jackal were checking the rooms.

"These guys were in a hurry they left the keys in the ignition" Harding said as he looked through the car

Thermite covered his nose at the stench of the burning corpses in the weight room and he took the cover of the car in the garage his eyes widened as the lieutenant flew the bird and smashed through the garage door.

"HVT IS IN THE CAR" Thermite yelled

Harding watched the car fly out and he quickly got in the police cruiser. Mitchell jumped out the dining room window in pure instinct. He fired a couple of shots none hit their target.

"INFERNO GET IN" Harding yelled

Mitchell got in the car as fast as he could. Harding threw the car into reverse and sped off in pursuit. The turbo whined on the cruiser as the petal was to the floor. They got right alongside the white mask car. Harding let off the gas some so the white mask could be ahead some as the rear driver side quarter panel got to the nose of the cruiser. Harding slammed into their car causing it to enter spin. The driver of the white mask car recovered beautifully and was heading to the interstate.

"Ghost, Inferno where are you?" Thermite asked with some worry

Harding was in the zone as the adrenaline kept him laser focused on the enemy car. He ripped up on the e brake and quickly put it back down as they slid right around the corner. His eyes were dilated and all the hairs on his arms and legs were standing up from the excitement of the chase. Both cars quickly got on the interstate both weaving through traffic.

"These guys don't give easily I'll give 'em that" The lieutenant said to his driver.

"GHOST, INFERNO?" Thermite yelled again

"We are on interstate 405 heading towards Long Beach" Mitchell responded

He got up alongside them again and they slammed his car. He smiled and pulled the car back in control and he sped past them he ripped the e brake again and set it back down after the car pulled a 180. He threw the car in reverse and pulled his handgun as the White masks hit his car head on.

"What the hell is he doing?" A white mask asked

"Shoot him" The lieutenant commanded

Harding smiled and Mitchell shot the driver through both windshields. Their car started to slow Harding slammed on the brakes using the added weight of the cruiser to slow down the other car. A civilian F-350 slammed into the back of the white mask car causing them to drop their guns. Harding and Mitchell grunted as they could feel the impact in his seat. There a few more cars to the pile up before it stopped. Harding got out of the cruiser and ripped the lieutenant out of the passenger seat.

"Come here asshole" Harding said as he grabbed the lieutenant

He slammed the lieutenant against the hood of the cruiser and cuffed him.

"hvt secure I need ambulances, fire trucks, and evac on interstate 405 mile marker 110" Harding said over the comms

"Units are on the way." Thermite said

Harding saw something dangling from the lieutenant's neck and he pulled it off. Harding's eyes widened as he saw what it was. It was a joker from a deck of cards that had a black backdrop and the joker was gold with red accents.

"Where did you get that?" Harding asked very intrigued.

"Where did I get wha…How did he get that?" Mitchell looked at the card in awe

 **1800 hours Hereford, UK**

Harding, Mitchell, Thermite, Twitch, and Jackal all returned to base with the Lieutenant in tow all where very tired the Lieutenant was going to be taken away to a holding cell for the night as Caveira would be interrogating him the next day.

"I'm curious as to what this gilipollas looks like" (asshole) Jackal took off his mask

Mitchell turned around and looked at face as a flood of flashbacks came to him he had no idea of what the memories were or where they came from. As the memories flooded his mind he quickly tore off his helmet balaclava.

Harding looked at him "are you alright little brother?" Harding waved the team on

"I…I'm fine just I know him from somewhere I can't remember who he is. I saw his face and a bunch of memories came back to me. Just a mild panic attack I'll be fine" Mitchell responded after splashing some water on his face from his canteen

"Let's get inside" Harding said while taking his helmet off and his goggles.

They walked into the armory behind Thermite and they all started taking their gear off.

"When did you learn to drive like that?" Thermite asked taking his bullet proof vest off

"In high school I was the top dog there in my home town for street racing and I never lost my skills behind the wheel" Harding smiled as he slipped off his boots and taking off his uniform.

"Just how good were you?" Thermite asked.

"I could've been in the Rolex series if I decided to be a legit racer, and the Rolex series is the top level of racing for road courses. If you didn't know" Harding smiled some.

Mitchell had changed quietly trying to figure out who that lieutenant was. They all walked out together after getting changed into civilian clothes they heard loud footsteps like someone was running as Thermite turned and Ash was running at top speed and had pinned him against the wall with a hug knocking the wind out of him. Harding laughed as did Mitchell

"It looks like someone missed you" Mitchell said laughing

"I always miss my Jordy when he is away" Ash smiled as she did miss him and she wanted to tease him by using the pet name she gave him. Thermite's face turned a deep red.

"What's a matter there Jordy?" Harding continued to laugh

Thermite flipped him off. Ash smiled and kissed Thermite before they disappeared into the base.

 **1830 Hereford base**

Mitchell and Harding were in Mitchell's dorm after showering. Both were staring at the playing card quietly trying to figure out how it had made its way to the lieutenant.

"How in the hell could he have gotten his hands on that card?" Mitchell asked breaking the silence

"I don't know, I mean the only other person that had the card has been dead for years." Harding responded

"Did he die though? We never did find his body we only have his tags." Mitchell looked at him

Harding grabbed the card and flipped it over he examined it very carefully there was what looked like small numbers

"Hey Mitch hand me a magnifying glass"

Harding held his hand out. Mitchell put the glass in Harding's hand. He closely examined the numbers and wrote them down

"What did it say?" Mitchell asked with curiosity

"North 712 and west 006. The other numbers are rubbed off"

"I don't know why but that makes me think of a city."

"This is just getting weirder and weirder"

"I know, first this card shows up. Then the lieutenant is someone from my past, and now there is broken coordinates on the card." Mitchell shook his head

"We need access to his file" Harding said

"Do you think Six has access to those files?"

"I have my doubts. Remember what director of the C.I.A told us after we got back? He said no one but a handful of people from the US government would be able to look at our files"

"I need time to think, I'll let you know when I figure something out." Mitchell said before leaving

Harding went back to his dorm still holding that card. He shut the door and sat on his bed.

"Talk to me brother" He said in a whisper clutching the card as if it would speak to him.

 **2000 hours**

Frost was tired of being in the base and wanted some fresh air. Mainly to get away from everyone and to have time to herself. She went to the roof and she let out a huge breath of air. She could smell cigarette smoke in the air. She looked around to see who was smoking she followed the sent to an air conditioning unit and the vague sound of music. She turned the corner to see Mitchell sitting down with his back against the air conditioning unit he was surrounded by cigarette buds listening to one x by three days grace. He was so deep in thought he didn't even hear her walk up behind him. She could tell something was bothering him.

"Hey are you alright?" she asked

He jumped as she startled him. He looked at her and smiled softly.

"You scared me" He said with a smile

She sat down next to him and took the cigarette out of his mouth and flicked it off the roof.

"Hey I wasn't done with that" he said

"You shouldn't smoke it isn't healthy for you. Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?" she looked at him

He sighed and looked off at the horizon "I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to"

"Why not?"

"Because it's all classified information as usual" he let out another sigh

"Does it have to do with the op you ran today?" she kept prying

"Partially, but if what I think is going on then it's much worse" He looked at her

"What do you mean by that?"

" _Very persistent" he thought_ "well it could end with me in a casket" he said very calm as he looked at the setting sun.

"Mitchell as long as you are on this team we will do everything we can to back you up and I will personally see to it that you will not end up in a casket" she gave a soft smile

He smiled and looked at his lighter that was white with gold accents and a four leaf clover in the center on the front and back. His smile faded after remembering who gave him the lighter. She grabbed the lighter out of his hand. She looked it over.

"Do you always just grab things out of people's hands" he looked at her

She smirked "Sometimes, where did you get this?"

"My old captain gave it to me he always said I was a good luck charm for the team" He had a small smile

"Where is your captain now?" she curiously

"In the dirt"

"oh"

"You guys here don't understand that my and Harding's lives have been surrounded in death, hate, and abuse." He hit his head on the air conditioning unit softly "no one here knows what it's like to watch the ones you fought with, bled with, and loved die because some suit said that you are no longer required." Tears started to come out of his eyes but he wasn't crying. She hugged him

"On top of that you can't talk about it to anyone because everything classified I'm so tired of having to hide everything because some desk jockey said so. They don't know what it's like to be on the field. The shit I have seen would make them kill themselves." Anger and sadness had taken control Frost held him in her arms. After a few minutes the water works had stopped he looked at her.

"I'm sorry about that" He looked down in embarrassment

"Mitchell it's ok. Everyone needs to spill their heart out at some point. You know if you ever need someone to talk to or hangout with I'm not that far away." She looked at him

He smiled softly "thank you for not turning away"

"No problem"

They sat on the rooftop for hours without saying a word just admiring the sunset.


	5. Chapter 5: Demons Of A Ghost

**A/N: I meant to have this chapter up earlier but i ran into some complications. This Chapter will be slower than the others but it will fill in some of Harding's and Mitchell's past. Sorry that the chapter is all over the place I didn't proof read as much as normal I wanted to at least get the chapter out if you want me to change it leave a review saying so or pm me. I really hope everyone is enjoying this story. Please leave a review and notifiy me if i missed anything. Enjoy!**

 ** _Chapter 5: The Demons Of A Ghost_**

 _June 14, 2012_

"… _When people think of a ghost they think of a spirit that is stuck in limbo. Unable to go to heaven or hell. They think that the ghost is hell bent on terrorizing whomever it can without care. They think a ghost is bound to an object and not being able to leave the earth is the reason why a ghost is mad and terrorizes everyone. But No one thinks about a ghost being haunted itself or the ghost being alive. I am alive but I have been a shell of my former self ever since that night. Every day I wish to cease to exist but Mitchell has been the only reason why I still walk the earth. I have lost everything that care for except my "little brother" he is the last person I call family. The rest my family is dead. I lost my team in one night and I watched them burn. That was a few years ago, but damn it I miss them. My parents died but I couldn't go to their funerals because of the Agency. People wonder how I got the call sign ghost and well simply because I have lost my soul the things that would consider me human…" Excerpt from Harding's journal_

 **June 6, 2018**

 **2456 hours Hereford base**

Harding and Mitchell have been on the team for one month. Mitchell has made a lot of friends out of the other operators as everyone likes him mainly because of how he can relate to everyone in one way or another and isn't afraid of anything. Harding on the other hand has kept his distance he only stays close enough so people know they can depend on him. He really hasn't got to know anyone. Mainly because he's afraid of what might happen if he does get close to someone.

Harding's mind had been wandering deep into his memories ever since that playing card showed up. He managed to get himself to sleep a few hours ago. But little did he know his memories would come back to haunt him.

Harding's dream

 **June 8, 2010**

 **0000 hours Las Vegas, Nevada**

It was midnight in the bustling city of Las Vegas, Nevada. They were on the 15th story of a skyscraper. The room was dark almost pitch black aside from the lights off the server stacks. Harding was dressed in black with his MTAR at his side the paint not so badly worn and a smaller amount of tallies on the stock. His bag was filled with medical equipment and a Defibulator. He looked the same except he was 25 and he didn't have the scar on his face. Mitchell was also dressed in black he had an M249B instead of an assault rifle. His pack was filled to the brim with explosives and ammo. He was 24 and he had a goatee. The rest of the team was also dressed in black. Jester the team's tech expert had the Joker playing card around his neck. (The same one from the lieutenant from last chapter) He had his Brown hair high and tight with a shaved face with green eyes. He was 32. Anubis the team sniper had a Mjölnir charm hanging off his gun. He had long dirty blonde hair with a long bushy beard. He was 29. Hades the team leader had a gold trident patch on his shoulder. He had thick red hair that was slightly unkempt but short he had a light stubble on his face. He was 44.

"Mitchell watch the door" Harding said with a whisper.

"Come on can't you make that thing work any faster?" Mitchell replied with a whisper.

Harding stayed silent as he tapped away on the keyboard of his laptop.

"Outlaw (Harding), Inferno how long until data extraction?" Team leader Hades asked.

"Four minutes to data extraction we will meet you at primary lz in six minutes" Harding replied quietly.

"Roger that, Hades out"

The laptop quickly gathered the data off the server "done, Mitchell let's move" Harding said as he quickly packed up his laptop and gear.

"Hades we are moving to extraction" Mitchell said as he and Harding started moving down to the ground floor.

"This is Anubis and Jester, Outlaw and Inferno we have you covered your path is clear."

Anubis and Jester was the team's sniper and spotter team. Harding and Mitchell quickly moved out of the server room. Just as they got half way down the hall a flashbang went off blinding them. "AMBUSH, COVERING FIRE!" Mitchell yelled running back behind a steel cabinet

Harding took cover behind the corner of a wall. The glass outside of the server room shattered from Anubis taking out the hostiles.

"May the Valkyries lead you to Valhalla" Anubis said referencing the Norse mythology

"Would you shut up about the Norse mythology you are not a fucking Viking" Jester said to Anubis with a smile

"At least he's a warrior not some fucking clown like you Jester" Harding said as he calmed down and took out two of the PMC's they were fighting and Mitchell unloaded his LMG into the hallway. Mitchell killed all of the PMC's with ease.

"Whatever you say Cowboy" Jester shot back at Harding

"Shut up all of you, Inferno what is your status?" Hades piped up

"We are moving to secondary Extraction our cover has been blown. We are heading to the roof we will Zip line down to secondary extraction" Mitchell said clearing the hallway and taking point to go up the stairs.

The PMC force they were fighting sent out a bunch of flying drones to find Jester and Anubis. The drones buzzed across the sky.

"Fuck, drones" Anubis said looking to the sky

"Enabling scrambler" Jester said calmly and the drones fell out of the sky "What drones?" he said with a smile

Harding and Mitchell made their way upstairs to the roof. Mitchell walked to the edge of the roof. He set anchors on the roof for the zip line.

"Outlaw cover me while I get these ready" Mitchell said taking out spools of wire and gun that fired the wire out.

"Alright but make it quick." Harding said setting his sights on the roof access

The PMC's pushed out to the roof access only to be gunned down by Harding. They kept pushing trying to get on the roof but Harding just chalked them up. His MTAR was extra loud thanks to the specially made compensator. Every shot he fired echoed through the city, but no one heard the shots as the streets were so loud. Mitchell fired the spools of wire down to the other building and set the wire in the anchors. Mitchell set his trolley on the wire and zipped down it. Once Mitchell reached the bottom Harding hooked up to the line and zipped down it. Mitchell cut the wire and they started running down to the ground floor.

"Hades we are on our way down. Anubis and Jester be ready for pick up. I will not wait for you." Harding said as he and Mitchell rushed down the stairs.

"Don't worry we will be there" Anubis said as he packed up his gear

Hades had a car waiting for them Harding got in the driver's seat and Mitchell in the passenger's seat with Hades in the rear. They drove to the building that Anubis and Jester were at they were already in the alley way.

"Get in" Mitchell said

They piled in Harding sped off. They were being chased by the PMC's who had armored cars.

"Inferno light em' up" Hades said

Mitchell popped out of the window and dumped an entire magazine from his M249 in to one of the cars it crashed into oncoming traffic.

"Outlaw pick up the pace" Hades commanded

"I'm going fast as I can we are doing a buck forty right now and I'm trying to avoid traffic so calm down" Harding said with haste as he focused on the road

Harding had the car bobbing and weaving through traffic. Harding hit one of the vehicles from the enemy over the median into oncoming traffic.

"Good shit keep going" Hades yelled

Jester pulled out his TMP and shot out the back window taking out another car. Anubis took his M82a3 and leaned out the window and fired a round straight through the grill of an armored car. The engine sized up as the engine block was hit by Anubis's round.

"Mitchell give them a parting gift" Hades said

Mitchell smiled as he pulled an M32 MGL grenade launcher out of his bag and loaded grenades that would stick to surfaces by deploying a metal spike to anchor it he popped out the window and landed six grenades on six cars. He got back in the car and pulled out a detonator. "Fire in the hole" He said as he triggered the grenades to go off causing the pursuing cars to explode blocking off the interstate behind them.

30 minutes later they pulled off the interstate and into the desert they had slowed down some as the enemy had quit chasing them. The headlights were destroyed. The car was riddled with bullet holes and dents.

"I think we lost them" Harding said with a sigh of relief

"That was some of the best driving I have ever seen out you" Hades said with a smile and patting Harding on the shoulder.

"Hey do you have the data?" Jester asked

"Yes it's in my bag and on my laptop"

Jester reached into Harding's bag and pulled out his laptop and started reading over the data. He smiled

"Dude you watch some fucked up porn" Jester joked

The team laughed Harding did too as they all knew he was joking.

"Holy shit, this has documents for money transactions to an organization called the White masks the checks are coming from a highly ranked United States official."

"Can you trace it to the official?" Mitchell asked

"Of course he can he is the clown with the blood of a German Shepard" Anubis smiled

Jester ran a trace on the computer "Ok it's the director of…"

Just before he could finish his sentence. A semi turned on its high beams blinding everyone in the car. Harding tried to swerve away but the left rear quarter panel struck the semi send their car into a roll. Harding's dream put everything in slow motion he could see himself and the rest of the team in the car. As the car entered the third roll Jester was ejected from his seat and out the back passenger door as he didn't have a seat belt on. He could see and heard Hades neck break as his head bounced off the window of the back driver's side door. Mitchell hit his head hard on the dashboard and passed out with blood coming from his head. Harding went face first into the steering wheel giving him a concussion and knocking him out. Anubis's head hit the asphalt and it shattered his skull. His dream sped back up to a normal speed. The car landed upright after it had finally stopped moving. Still groggy Harding laid with his head on the steering wheel and his left arm over the steering wheel. He could hear the driver of the semi on the phone.

"Yeah I got them they are dead you don't have to worry about anything from them" The man chuckled as he shot the laptop that landed in the middle of the street multiple times.

"Now I want to discuss my payment"

Harding blanked out again 5 maybe ten minutes later he got out of the car still moving slowly as he was very groggy and went over to the passenger side and got Mitchell out of the car

"We need to move Mitchell" Harding said even though Mitchell was passed out.

Harding looked at the car and he saw he bodies of his teammates covered in blood and broken bones leaving their bodies badly disfigured. He blinked and they were gone. Harding shook his head and took Mitchell and laid him in the ditch as He walked back to get the rest of the team out the car exploded knocking Harding back. He fell to his knees in defeat "god damnit" he started crying as watched the car burn.

His dream placed him in the center of an open area shrouded by darkness with him in the center of a spotlight. Out of the darkness his old team took a step forward all in sync and they stood in the same uniforms they had on the night they died with blood splatters and all except for the fact that none of their bones were broken.

"Team Rainbow huh? You have made quite a name for yourself" Hades spoke with a smile.

Harding stood there quietly baffled.

"I can't believe you became a sniper the Harding I knew would throw himself in the middle of the fight and cause as much chaos as possible" Anubis smirked.

"I find it funny that we died and he gets the glory of life. I always thought it would be the other way around" Jester said with a straight face that was trying to hide a smile.

"Guys I'm sorry you all know if I could go back I would change everything, there is not a day goes by that I'm reminded of you three." Harding looked down in sadness.

Hades somehow appeared behind Harding with his hand on his shoulder. "Look kid you did everything you could and sadly yes we did die but don't beat yourself up over it. None of us saw it coming"

"No kidding, at least we aren't suffering anymore, you know what Valhalla is pretty amazing" Anubis interjected with his genuine smile. Harding began to tear up at Anubis's optimistic personality and his love for Vikings and because of Hades naturally supportive tone.

"But one thing I don't like is that it doesn't have suites at the Packer games though and the food is pretty shitty just like those MREs we had ate in the sandbox for so many months." Jester said in a joking matter that he was known for.

Harding started to cry "You guys and Mitchell were the only family I had after my parents died you were my brothers. You don't understand the pain I feel every day I'm alive. Sometimes I turn around expecting one of you to be there and then you are not" Harding said as his voice was very shaky and choked up.

"Sadly yes we have passed but you will see us again." Hades said

"In the afterlife?" Harding asked

"No you will see us soon" Hades replied

They all waved good bye and disappeared into the darkness. Harding was standing in the spot light alone without a word and with loads of questions. Then a woman appeared before him she was in her late twenties early thirties she had long brown hair it was unkempt her eyes were green but filled with fear. Her clothes were badly tattered. She was rather beautiful but something was wrong.

"Why didn't you save me?" she looked him with fear and question.

"What do you mean?"

He looked at her confused and she showed him a brand on her right forearm it looked like a serial number.

"You let them sell me to the highest bidder. Why didn't you stop them?" she asked.

"I wanted to save you believe me I did I couldn't blow my cover or else I wouldn't have been able to save anyone." He replied as it hurt him to say that.

Then a little girl appeared before him "Am I going to see mommy again?" she asked with her eyes filled with curiosity and question.

"No you won't" Harding replied somberly as he teared up again.

"Why won't I see mommy again?" the little girl asked

"Why won't I see my husband again?" the woman asked.

Then more people arrived mostly women and children there were a few men in the bunch all started asking why they won't see their loved ones again. Harding fell to the floor and curled up into the fetal position and started crying he had hit his breaking point "STOP PLEASE GET OUT OF MY HEAD" he screamed at the top of his lungs. The question only got louder "why won't I see them again?" "Please…stop…please" He begged but they kept asking the question. "FUCKING STOP LEAVE ME" he yelled and the world fell silent at it became totally engulfed in darkness.

Harding snapped awake and sat up he was shaking and wiped his tears away. He looked to his clock and it said 2:00am. He sighed and he grabbed his backpack and walked down to the Armory and he grabbed his weapons and stripped them apart so he could clean them.

 **June 7, 2018**

 **0230 hours Hereford**

Harding was cleaning his Ballista he sprayed REM oil on a small cloth and he used his ram rod to clean the barrel. Jackal was stumbling around the base as he couldn't sleep. He heard someone in the Armory and he walked in. He saw Harding cleaning his rifle not paying much attention to him he was wearing cloth shorts and a Ford T-shirt with some really old beat up running shoes. He leaned on the door frame and saw his hands were shaking. Harding knew he was there he didn't want to say anything.

"Why aren't you in bed my friend?" Jackal asked

"Couldn't sleep" Harding kept running the ram rod down the barrel of his rifle changing the cloth on it when the other got dirty

"I know what that's like. What is keeping you up?" Jackal sat at the table where Harding was working.

"My PTSD" He was satisfied with the cleanliness of the barrel and he wiped down the bolt of the rifle with a cloth that had rem oil on it

"Do you want to talk about?"

"Not really but it's probably better if I do. Can you keep this under wraps?" Harding asked looking at the Spaniard

"Sure"

"Well it had to do with my old team it was the night I lost them all in a single stroke" Harding kept cleaning the bolt

"Yeah"

"Well I relived that night I watched them die all over again and saw the faces of the people I couldn't save from other operations." He set the bolt down before reassembling the rifle his face was emotionless but deep inside he was hurting and afraid.

"I know what that's like. I relive the night I was called to my brother's house to investigate his death which is why I have insomnia. I never found his killer" Jackal cussed in Spanish which Harding didn't understand

"Same I never found the guy responsible for killing my brothers in arms. My PTSD makes me have night terrors and I can't normally get back to sleep after one of those" Harding started cleaning his handgun

"What happened to your team?" he asked

"We were escaping from a building and the PMC force and we got away but someone had an ambush set and we were in a car the guy was in a semi and I swerved to avoid him but I still clipped the front bumper and it sent us into a roll. One of my guys was ejected from the car, Mitchell smashed his head on the dash. One had his skull shattered from hitting the asphalt. The other had his neck broke. I went face first into the steering wheel. I and Mitchell were the only ones to walk away the others died." Harding looked down at his hands still having the shakes.

"Hey you did everything you could" Jackal looked at him and sat next to him

Harding slammed his pistol on the table "No I could have done more but I was selfish and I got me and Mitchell out. I even had a bag full of medical equipment I could have saved at least one of them" his voice was raised then tapered off at the end. He looked to the Spaniard then down at the table "sorry I shouldn't have raised my voice" he ran his hand down his face.

"It's alright" Jackal wanted to change the subject "You are the only person I have ever met that has that rifle"

"Well I'm not surprised no military really uses it I actually bought it off the civilian market in the U.S I wanted something that was mine and never used by anyone else" He looked the rifle and the memories he had with it.

Jackal smiled and yawned "I swear I have seen that rifle some where I can't remember where"

"Well it was in the game Black ops 2, which is part of the reason I bought it." He smiled and looked at his hands still shaking.

"Night mares give you the shakes huh?" Jackal asked

"Yeah but I got a remedy for that hell it might help you get some sleep" Harding looked at him

"I have tried everything believe me" He smiled

"You haven't tried this"

Harding reached into his bag and pulled out a mason jar filled with a clear liquid he opened the jar and the aroma of apples filled the air. Harding smiled at the scent. Jackal furrowed his eye brows in confusion.

"What is that?" He looked at substance trying to figure out what it was

"It's apple pie moonshine"

"What?"

"Homemade alcohol from the states I bought it the last time I was at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. I bought a few cases of the stuff and I only drink it when I need a pick me up or to stop the shakes"

"Isn't that illegal?"

"Yeah, but what people don't know won't hurt them" Harding took a few sips savoring the taste "Here try some only take few sips because it's stronger than that piss they call beer that they have here. It will take ten to fifteen minutes for it to kick in." He passed the jar to Jackal

Jackal sucked down half the jar. "That taste really good you will have to buy more of that stuff when you get a chance."

"Believe me I will definitely buy more when I get chance. If you are still awake in the next twenty minutes I will be impressed but you drank too much of that." Harding looked at him after taking one last sip and closing the jar back up.

20 minutes later after some small talk. Jackal felt his blood warm and he slumped down the chair as the sensation was very relaxing.

"I see what you mean about the…" Jackal fell asleep in the middle of his sentence.

"I told you that you drank too much of that you dumbass" He chuckled

Harding put the jar back in his bag and he dragged Jackal back to his dorm. He opened the door and laid Jackal out on his bed. Harding walked out closing the door quietly behind him and he dropped his bag off in his room as the shakes were gone he went to the roof for fresh air.

 **1000 Hours Hereford**

The base was stirring everyone was out getting breakfast and starting their workout routines. Mitchell, Blackbeard, and Sledge were having a push up competition. They were in the first 10 minutes of the competition. Sledge was ahead with ease as he was already at a hundred and not really breathing hard. Blackbeard wasn't far behind at ninety-five and feeling slight fatigue but still pushing strong. Mitchell was in last at ninety he was trying to pace himself but also trying to keep up. He was feeling about the same as Blackbeard.

"Come on make it a challenge for me lads" The Scotsman boasted with a smile

"I'll smoke your ass Seamus" Blackbeard fired back

"I'll beat the both of you" Mitchell piped up

Everyone was gathered around but they knew Sledge was going to win as he beat everyone except Montagne in strength. Thatcher walked into the gym with Alibi and Maestro in tow.

"Say hello to the newbies!" Thatcher yelled

Everyone turned around and the three got up off the floor.

"fratello, è bello vederti" (brother it's good to see you) Maestro had his signature smile

Sledge stood up and gave him a manly hug "it's been a long time old friend how is the family?"

"They are doing well, but I'm genuinely happy to see the old man, you, and James again" Maestro smiled

As Sledge and Maestro caught up on their past lives Blackbeard and Valkyrie were both happy to see Alibi again. Valkyrie gave her a hug and Blackbeard gave a firm handshake. They knew Alibi through training and joint operations.

"How have you been Aria?" Valkyrie gave her a warm smile

"I have been good. You must have put on even more muscle since the last time I saw you" Alibi smiled

"Yeah I have" Blackbeard spoke up

"I didn't mean you dickless I was talking to Meghan"

Blackbeard gave a slightly surprised face "So that's how it's going to be huh?" he smiled

"Yeah that's how it's going to be" she smiled

Alibi caught a glimpse of Mitchell and gave him a dirty look but no one noticed except Mitchell who disappeared from the gym shortly after. Everyone was either getting reunited or meeting Alibi and Maestro while showing them around the base.

 **1300 hours**

Alibi and Maestro were following Sledge around the base. They were walking past the dorms Harding and Alibi traded glares as they walked past.

"De Luca" Harding said calmly

"Fletcher" she responded

Maestro and Sledge could feel the tension in the air and feel it fade just as quickly as it had appeared.

"Do you know him?" Sledge asked

"Yeah" she responded

"What happened between you two?" Maestro asked

"You mean three, we made pact to never speak of it because we have how you say dirt on each other" She looked at the two before her

"Is it that bad?" Sledge asked

"It is career ending, is this my room or Adriano's?" She asked changing the subject

"It's yours" Sledge said handing her the keys

She gave a smile before walking into the dorm and settling in. Maestro did same as he was placed next door to Alibi. She set up pictures of her family all over. She grabbed on picture of her and Maestro at a bar he had his arm around her shoulder while hoisting a beer up in the air with his other arm. As usual he had his signature smile. She was smiling at how her giant friend was acting that night. She smiled remembering that night and she put it on top of the dresser in the room. He walked into her room not even knocking first and sat on her bed next to her.

"I'm glad you kept that picture I still remember you saying how you were going to beat my ass for putting my arm around you" He smiled at her

"That's when I was in denial that I loved you" She smiled back and kissed him

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close "What do you think of this place my flower?"

She smiled and rolled her eyes and playfully hit his chest "I think this place is very nice much better than the G.I.S headquarters."

"Yes much better but I bet they have less money to spend. Did you get a chance to talk to Craig and Meghan?" He smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder

"Yes I did." She looked up at him

"What happened between you and that Fletcher guy?" he asked

Her smile faded and she sighed "That's a story for another time my love. Today is a happy day and I don't want to ruin that" She planted another kiss on him

"Ok, but if you need me to I will get my evil eye and zap him for you" He gave his smile

She softly giggled "No that won't be necessary" She smiled

He just smiled and held her close and he helped her get settled into her new environment as she did the same for him. As people came by to say hello and greet them they stopped with showing their affection as she didn't want the others to of their relationship just because she didn't want to be picked on about her relationship.

 **1600 hours**

Harding was on the roof as he was still slightly disturbed by his dream he had dark bags under his eyes and was very tired. He smiled softly as he still hadn't seen Jackal since this morning he was probably still sleeping. Mitchell went to the roof for a smoke he was surprised to see Harding up there.

"what are you doing up here brother?" Mitchell asked as he lit up a cigarette

"Thinking"

"About what?"

"The old team and past missions things like that" He looked to Mitchell

"You had an episode didn't ya?"

"Yeah, I did and it was of that night."

"I'm sorry"

"It's alright. I'm better now. I still can't believe it's going to be eight years tomorrow" He sighed and looked at the trucks being unloaded

"I know I really miss those guys" He let out a huff of smoke

Harding pulled out what was left of the moonshine from earlier and took a sip and handed it to Mitchell.

"To the team"

"To the team" Mitchell took a sip and savored the taste "You won't believe who got recruited to the team" he looked to Harding

"Yeah I know I saw her earlier I hope she still knows that our pact is still in play" Harding leaned against the railing and took another drink of the moonshine "I gave Ryad some of this and I haven't seen him all day" He smiled

"Oh shit he's not going to remember who he is tomorrow" Mitchell chuckled

"Tomorrow *he shakes his head* You know I have this feeling that's been gnawing on me all day that something bad is going to happen tomorrow" He looked over

Mitchell got a serious look on his face "I hate it when you say that shit because generally your right and people get hurt. I hope that you are wrong and it's just paranoia."

"I hope so too"

Mitchell flicked his cigarette bud off the roof "You should try and get some sleep I know it's early yet but you really should try"

"I will little brother. You know you worry about me too much" He smiled

Mitchell shook his head and punched Harding's arm playfully "I worry because you are the only family I have other than mom and dad also because of the amount of paper work I'd have to fill out if you did die. Not to mention what the town would do to me if you did die under my watch" he smiled

"Your watch dude I told your parents that you were under my watch I have bailed you out of trouble more times than you have bailed me out, Bitch" Harding smiled

"Whatever you say Whore" Mitchell fired back

"Hey man I gotta make that money somehow" Harding laughed

Mitchell laughed as well "I knew you were going to say that"

After their laughter died down Mitchell turned to Harding and smiled "Get some rest brother tomorrow is going to be a long day" Mitchell put his hand on Harding's shoulder and gave him an assuring nod.

"Alright man, I'll talk to you tomorrow" Harding nodded as the both walked inside and Harding crashed out for the night.


	6. Chapter 6: It's Gonna Be A Long Day

**A/N: Hey everybody I was wanting to let you know that my college semester starts on the 20th of this month I will try and get chapters out during the semester but I'm not sure if I will be able to, Just as an advisory if I seem to disappear for a while it's probably because of college and I will not forget about this story or abandon it so fret not. My uploads won't be nearly consistent as it is now, Chapters will be taking longer to produce now as I have picked my first draft of this story clean. I really hope you all are enjoying this story. Reviews are always nice and please let me know if I missed any errors. Thank you and Enjoy!**

 _ **Chapter 6: It's Gonna Be A Long Day **_

**June 8, 2018**

 **0930 Hours Hereford Base**

Mitchell was working on his grenades in the workshop which was empty he had latex gloves, a surgeon's mask, and clear safety goggles on to protect his body from the chemicals that he was working with. Frost wanted to make her traps snap harder and be more efficient. She saw Mitchell and smiled she walked behind him and watched him carefully mix the ingredients.

"What are you up to Tina?" Mitchell asked as he poured metal oxide into the powdered aluminum.

"Nothing, just watching you work" She smiled

He smiled and focused on getting the mixture right. She curiously watched.

"Do you have a chemistry degree?" she asked

"Nope I just messed around with the chemicals until I got it right. I have blown myself up a couple of times but I enjoy making these things" he smiled

"Where are from? I have been wondering" She looked at him

"I'm from rural Ohio" He smiled as he poured the mixture into a metal casing

"What's like there?"

"Its open fields, wooded areas, and the sky just fills your vision no buildings or anything to block the view of the sky. The night sky is just beautiful. I actually would like to go back there one day to settle down and stay, never have to leave. Just get away from the wars and live in peace" he smiled

"It sounds rather romantic" She smiled

"It would be if I find the right girl" he shrugged

"You will find her soon" She smiled before going to a table to work on her welcome mat.

He raised his right eyebrow and stood straight up and thought about what she just said.

" _I wonder what she meant by that" Mitchell thought_

 **1200 hours Hereford**

Mitchell was sitting at a table thinking about what Frost aid trying to figure out if she meant her of if she was being nice. Montagne sat down across from Mitchell.

"What are you thinking about little friend?" he looked at him

"Oh just something Tina said" Mitchell looked at him

Montagne took a bite out of his apple "what did she say to you?"

"That I would find the right girl soon" Mitchell took a bite out of his ham sandwich

"Hmm… Maybe she meant her"

"You think so?" Mitchell looked to him

"Maybe but I could be wrong, she seems to like you if somebody mentions your name she smiles" Montagne smiled

Mitchell smiled and the P.A cut through the base

"Ghost, Valkyrie, Ying, Blitz, Thermite, Sledge, and Frost report to hanger 5" the PA called out. Harding was in the weight room and the fastest way to the armory was through the mess hall. He came flying through the doors.

"MOVE MOVE MOVE" Harding yelled as he rushed through the room

Fuze turned around with a tray full of food, like enough to feed a bear. Harding preformed a spin move like something straight out of the NFL to avoid knocking Fuze over. He smashed through the double doors on the other side of the room.

"Does he always move that fast?" Hibana asked sitting down next to Mitchell

"Only during emergencies otherwise he moves pretty slow, but always on time" Mitchell looked at her

She was unimpressed with Harding's entrance and departure.

All the operators scrambled out of their lunch time lull. They quickly got dressed and ready for a fight and made their way out to the hangar. Six was there to give briefing. "There is a bomb and hostage situation at a high school in Chicago, Illinois. There are students still in building we need to get the bombs defused and get the hostages out of the building at the same time if possible. Valkyrie will be assisting with hostage extraction from the command center on site. Any questions?" no one had any questions as they piled into the plane.

 **1700 hours Hereford Command Center**

Six was watching the body cams on the team. The room almost looked like a space command center with computers, drone camera feeds and technicians running different consoles. Mitchell walked in a grabbed an ear piece listening to the radio chatter. Six turned to Mitchell.

"What are you doing here Mr. Packston?" She asked

"I have nothing better to do, so I figured I would watch the operation" Mitchell said watching the screen at the front of the room

"Are you sure you don't have anything to do" She looked at him as she really really didn't want Mitchell in there.

"Yep, I have made enough grenades for the next few months. I have already hit the gym, I was at the shooting range, I did a session of VR training, and I really don't want to sit around in the Rec room." Mitchell looked back at her "I won't get in your way I just want to see how this shakedown goes."

"Alright" Six sighed

 **1700 hours Chicago, Illinois**

Most of the city streets were blocked off due to the attack Ying was driving the APC they were given.

"Ying stop the car" Harding said

Ying slammed on the brakes thinking there was immediate danger everyone jerked forward and groaned in displeasure.

"What is it?" Ying asked very alert

"Nothing just saw a building I could set up in" Harding said

He jumped out and he entered the building and set up a sniper's hide on the fourth floor in the building which was 2 blocks away from the high school. The rest of the team stacked up on the door with Blitz on point followed by Frost, Thermite, Ying, and Sledge.

"I've got a bomb on the second floor with hostages I count about 30 or 40 white masks, there is a second bomb in the basement I can't see it but a lot of people are moving in and out of that area." Harding called out over the coms as he attached a suppressor to his rifle

"Roger we are pushing in, Blitz open the door." Thermite said in hushed tone trying to stay quiet

"Ja, Valkyrie cut zhe powar" Blitz said as quietly opened the door with his shield

"Cutting power in 3…2…1" all of the lights went out it was dead quiet as the team pushed in they over heard a conversation

"they are just running through the FBI's terrorist playbook don't…" the white mask hit the floor dead his friend tried calling over the radio but before the white mask could do anything Ying shot him with a suppressed pistol

Harding started sweeping all of the floors taking out targets very quickly and stealthily the team in the building made it to the second floor to see blood splattered on the walls and White Masks strung about

"You made one hell of a mess up here Ghost" Thermite said quietly as they pushed into the bomb room.

"Good shootin'" Sledge added after seeing a mask that was shot right between the eyes

"Valkyrie get the swat team to the south side of the building we are sending hostages out the window" Thermite said

"You got it" Valkyrie turned to the SWAT commander behind her

"Send your guys to the south side of the building move quietly they are sending them out the window"

"Yes ma'am" the SWAT commander replied as the officers made their way to the other side of the building. As the last hostage was out the SWAT team moved them far from the building.

Ying readied one of her candelas. Frost set her traps at the doorways. Sledge made a murder hole in the soft wall to prepare for the attack.

"Blitz start defusing" Thermite said

Blitz dropped the diffuser and punched in the code. All hell broke loose the White Masks were trying their hardest to get in the room. They rushed from all doorways thinking they weren't dug in so well.

"THEN THERE WAS LIGHT" Ying yelled as her candela detonated blinding the white masks in the hallway Harding swiftly took them out. One White Mask stepped into one of Frost's welcome mats it snapped on his shin breaking it in multiple places his leg sounded like a wooden pencil being snapped in half.

"30 SECONDS TO DIFFUSION" Blitz yelled as he bitch slapped a White mask with his shield that he blinded.

"FRAG OUT!" Sledge yelled.

"5 SECONDS TO DIFFUSION" Blitz yelled as the White Mask assault had stopped and Blitz grabbed the diffuser and they started grabbing ammo from the dead white masks.

"I'm going to join you guys inside I can't see the bomb from here meet me at the main entrance" Harding said as he took his 12x scope off his Ballista and replaced it with an ACOG he joined the team inside the building.

"Valkyrie check the building cameras see if there is a hatch we can drop in from our stealth is compromised" Thermite said as he reloaded his handgun

"There is a service hatch in the kitchen that leads to the basement" She replied

"Blitz, Ghost, and Ying push the main stairs to the basement Me, Sledge, and Frost will take the hatch on my mark we blow open the door and hatch at the same time and we quickly funnel the hostages out of the building after we clear the room then we come back and take care of the bomb" Thermite said

They divided into the teams as both teams got into position with next to no resistance

"We are in position awaiting your call" Blitz said.

"On my mark One…Two…Three..Mark!" The wall and hatch exploded in hundreds of fragments the pushed into the room to see a full team of bombers holding their Deadman triggers

"You shoot one of us all of these kids die, if you want them to get out alive you will walk away" The White mask said very relaxed as all of the ops had their guns trained on a bomber

"We can get you money so long as you let them go and we will let out alive" Thermite said

"No Deal" the leader replied.

As Thermite tried to negotiate Harding looked at one of the kids and he winked. Harding tapped his boot on the ground. Ying quietly readied a candela for max power. Blitz put his thumb on the flash button of the shield.

"You know I hate negotiations it's boring and nobody truly gets what they want especially when they have innocent at gun point or in this case bomb point and that just really bothers me so why don't just I don't know see what happens. Oh wait you won't be able to see." Harding said seriously with a smile under his balaclava and walked closer.

The leader cocked his in confusion as did most of the team except Blitz and Ying as the caught on to what Harding was doing. "What do you mean I won't be able to see? You can't kill me."

"Oh, no I meant you are sure as hell going to be blind after this. Believe me we can kill you" Harding said with a lighter tone in his voice.

Harding was inches away from the white masks face and he cloaked himself and faced the wall as Ying threw her candela and Blitz flashing everybody with his shield.

"MY EYES" the leader yelled

Harding, Ying, and Blitz rushed up and got the detonators away from the masks. They then killed the masks after the detonators away from the masks. The rest of the team was blinded by the candelas.

"Fuck my eyes" Sledge said as he held his eyes trying to get them to focus

Ying and Blitz chuckled "Vhat's a matter there Sledge?" Blitz had huge smile on his face even though no one could see it.

"You guys are dicks" Frost added rubbing her eyes

"Come on let's get these kids out of here" Thermite said smiling as his goggles managed to protect his eyes "Valkyrie we have friendlies and hostages coming out of the main entrance tell the SWAT team to watch their fire."

"Roger that"

Ying and Frost lead the hostages out of the building. Blitz started the diffusing process after the hostages were clear. They didn't think anyone was left in the building except for them. They still took defensive positions.

"You guys have a large force headed your way prepare for a fight" Valkyrie said looking at a predator cam feed

The White Masks started their assault again as they had enough of them left for one last push. Before the diffuser could finish a stray bullet struck the bomb causing the gases to hiss out

"OH SHIT GET OUT GET OUT GO GO GO" Harding yelled

Blitz, Thermite, Sledge and Harding started running. They managed to get just outside of the building while killing every white mask in their path. Thermite was the back as Blitz was going to take over and cover their rear.

"KEEP MOVING GET OUT OF HERE" Thermite yelled

Just as Thermite finished his sentence there was a large explosion went off killing the white masks and launching the ops. Harding landed on a car and caused the roof and windshield to collapse some. Thermite landed on the pavement hard he had a sucking chest wound from the explosion his body armor was shredded he had fragments of it all over his body. Blitz landed near an armored truck his helmet kept him from getting knocked out or a concussion. Sledge landed on Blitz's shield. Everyone's ears were ringing they all laid there for a few minutes. Frost, Ying, and Valkyrie all started to run over.

" _What the hell's a matter ghost? Why can't you get up? Hmm? You need to get your motherfucking lazy ass up. Or are going to lose another man under your watch? Get your ass up Captain you have walked away from much worse it was just one explosion so get your dumbass up"_ Harding said to himself in his head

"Harding get up Thermite needs your help, Come on brother you have been through worse shake it off and get up" Mitchell said over the comms

"Emergency units are on their way" Six added her voice had concern in it she normally didn't show emotion but she was about to lose one of her leaders.

Harding slid off the car and landed on the asphalt. He felt dizzy and his vision was very blurry a stumbled over to Thermite and fell on his hands and knees he pulled his balaclava off and his pack. He removed what was left of Thermite's body armor and he felt his chest there was blood coming from it. Harding started putting gauze on the wound and using medical tape to hold it in place. He was having problems seeing and putting the medical tape on accurately. Harding shook his head trying to get the dizziness to go away but it just made it worse. Blitz came over and saw Thermite he could tell it was bad he kneeled down next to him.

"Vhat do you need help vith Fletcher?" Blitz asked he could tell Harding was fucked up and that it was just will power and adrenaline keeping him up.

"W..W..We need to st..art an I.V." Harding stumbled on his words

"ENEMY CONTACT" Frost yelled

Ying, Sledge, Valkyrie, and Frost started shooting at a figure dressed in black whoever it was returned fire but only four shots were fired from the figure in black the all struck Harding three were placed on his chest and hit dead center of his helmet shattering his googles. Harding fell back from Thermite and was now down for the count.

"Blitz Thermite needs an I.V right now. Get in Ghost's bag in the second compartment there should be tubing a needle and a bag of morphine and Saline grab the Saline it will help keep his wound clean. Then you need to perform an Asherman chest seal" Mitchell said with a calm urgency. Six was rather impressed with Mitchell.

"Ja I'm starting an I.V" Blitz said as he started the chest seal

"Wha..What happened?" Thermite asked not knowing of his injury his voice was weak and his breathing was labored.

Ying pushed his head back down "You have a sucking chest wound you need to stay calm" She said very relaxed

"Oh ok, Where is Eliza?" he was so out of it he had no idea where he was or what was going on around him

"She's at home waiting for you" Sledge replied

"I can't wait to get back"

Blitz, Ying, and Sledge looked at each other with uncertainty and nervousness. Ying, Sledge, and Blitz were watching over Thermite. Frost and Valkyrie were checking on Harding. Valkyrie checked his pulse she let out a sigh of relief after feeling his heart beat.

"How is Ghost?" Six asked

"He is alive he got very lucky his vest and helmet caught the bullets but he defiantly has a few broke ribs and a possible concussion" Valkyrie replied

"We need to wake him up. Being unconscious could give him brain damage" Frost said

"Frost in the front of his pack I mean the very front his pack in the smallest packet there is a few smelling salt capsules break it open under his nose be careful he will wake up very fast." Mitchell said

Frost found the salts and did as Mitchell said. Harding's eyes opened wide and he took a large breath only to be greeted by a pain in his ribs. Screamed in pain and laid on the ground taking short breaths and still trying to shake the dizziness he had.

The Ambulances arrived they took Harding and Thermite the rest of the team took the APC to the hospital.

 **June 9, 2018**

 **0200 hours North Western Memorial Hospital Chicago, Illinois**

The team had been at the hospital for hours they were in Harding's room they were allowed to keep their guns and gear thanks to Six sending the forums that said they could keep their firearms. Harding was in the bed in a light sleep they had a heart monitor hooked up to him even though he didn't really need it. Valkyrie was sitting next to him watching over him. She had her shemagh off. Ying was standing at window admiring the city lights. She had her hair down with her special glasses off. Sledge was listening to music on his phone. He had his hammer next to him and his mask off. Frost was trying not to fall asleep she had her beanie off. Blitz was cleaning his shield to keep him distracted. The door to the room opened everyone looked to the door it was a doctor he put Harding's X-rays on the light board. Before the doctor could say a word.

"How is Jordan?" Harding asked the rest of the team was wanting to know.

"You have…" Harding cut him off

"I know what's wrong with me. How is Jordan?" He asked with a little anger

"He is better and can be moved but he is still pretty bad" The doctor replied

There was a small wave of relief across the room but they still worried for him.

"You have 2 broken ribs a concussion and your right ear has minor damage you may experience dizziness and small amount of hearing loss but it should return in a few days. I'm prescribing you OxyContin for pain I will have that up here in a few" The doctor gave a smile and walked out.

"I should have done more" Harding whispered to himself and looked down at his hands.

Doc and Finka walked into Harding's room the entire team looked at the two.

"Come on we are taking you guys and Jordan home" Doc said

"But Jordan shouldn't be moved he is still in critical condition" Ying said

"It's ok we have a plane that has an ICU in it and we can keep him stable there and he won't move for quite a while after we get back to Hereford" Finka said she gave a reassuring smile.

The team wasn't about to fight over it because if Doc and Finka were ok with it then it probably was ok. Harding happily took off the heart monitor and the I.V Valkyrie gave helped him up and she put his right arm around the base of her neck to help him balance as they walked. The rest of the team followed with their gear Sledge had to carry Harding's shit. He wasn't real happy about it. They got on the Chinook on the roof with Thermite on a gurney he had an oxygen mask, I.V, multiple bandages on him. There was still a heart monitor on him. All the team could hear was the subtle.

 _Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep…._


	7. Chapter 7: Revelations

**A/N: Hey Guys and Gals this maybe my last chapter for a while depending on how the Semester goes. I know the Secretary of defense was instated in 2017 but In this story he has been there for a long time. I have decided to use the operators First names in non-combat parts of the story. Leave a Review let me know if I have missed any errors. Than you and Enjoy!**

 _ **Chapter 7: Revelations**_

 _November 17, 2008_

" _Fire is an interesting thing. It can be a lot of things such as a friend to talk to when you are in a survival situation, it's mesmerizing never making the same move twice, and be a tool. But it's mainly looked at as a thing of destruction. That's wrong you know what I'm going to stop right there. Because it's true for wood, paper, etc. If a fire is maintained and properly taken care of it can be a cleanser if you look at the metals no matter what it has to be ran through fire at some point. Everything from brass to tungsten it has to be smelted to burn away the impurities. Funny thing is, is that people have walk through a metaphorical fire at some point in their life. In order to have a heart of gold or a soul of sliver that person must walk through the fire to burn away the impurities such as greed, selfishness, arrogance. I know I haven't really walked those flames yet or maybe I have and I haven't realized it but I know for a fact that me, my "bother", and this team will have to walk the flame. I hope that it will make us better in the end…" Excerpt from Mitchell's journal_

 **June 9, 2018**

 **0800 hours White Mask Headquarters**

 **Location unknown**

The building, Fortress rather was very nice for a terrorist hideout in the mountains. It was well heated and the food was great there was even gym as a luxury. There was plenty of lighting inside the base. This place was massive there was more than enough room for an entire army in there. A man dressed in black walked into the base and went straight to the sleeping quarters that was designated for his team. He sat down on the couch with some of the snow flying off his uniform.

"Hey boss I got what we needed. You are thoroughly going to enjoy reading it." The man reached into his chest pouch and handed a hard drive to the 52 year old sitting at the table.

"Nice very nice Donny, did you run into any trouble?" the older man asked

"Yeah some but I was able to handle it, between you and me these white mask guys can't even wound one guy they are absolutely worthless they might be organized and be able to move at a moment's notice and this base but other than that they can't do shit. I have seen Taliban cause more damage than these fuck sticks" Donny leaned back in his seat and brushed his long brown hair back

"Yeah but they make really good distractions you clown" A younger man dropped down from his bunk

"I'm not a clown anymore, Keegan" Donny smiled

"Will always be a clown to me" Keegan patted Donny on the shoulder

"Did you see them?" The older man asked

"I saw Fletcher he looks he let his hair grow out he has a facial scar now, he is a sniper now with a cloaking unit it's very cool I still haven't seen Packston yet" Donny looked at his leader

"Shit Fletcher with long hair and a sniper. He has really changed did you get him?" Keegan asked

"I shot him I don't know if I killed him or not but I know three shots hit his vest and one hit his helmet"

"Well that is a very interesting." The old man smiled as he stroked his red beard

"The bomb got one of the operators really bad I wouldn't be surprised if he died here soon" Donny took off his vest and jacket

"Well John you should probably take that to the boss before he throws a bitch fit" Donny smiled

"Yeah I'll be back in a few"

John got up and left the room he walked the halls saying hello to a few of his friends. He came to an office door and knocked on it a few times.

"Who is it?" A grizzled voice called from the other side

"It's John my guy has something you will want to see"

"Come in and sit down"

John walked into the office and sat down at the mahogany desk. He placed the hard drive on the desk.

"That has all of the security read outs you need" John said calmly

The man at the desk had a buzz cut with a clean shave he had a tattoo on his arm of a scorpion. He was rather big but he was short and all muscle. He hooked the drive up to his computer he smiled seeing the security and blueprint read out for the UN building in New York.

"Oh this is very nice, I'm very excited to have these tell your man that I am impressed. no one will expect this." The leader of the White Masks smiled

"Sir, there is one hang up two men from our team years ago are still alive and working with rainbow and they know quite a bit about our past and I don't know if they know we are alive or not." John looked the man in the eyes

"Well John you are very smart and so is your team so I need you to use your imagination and think about what you need to do because if they find you are alive then well they could take us down fairly quickly so tell me what you need to do to stop them." They locked eyes

"I have to kill them." John maintained a serious look on his face but inside he didn't like the idea of killing his own.

"Very good John, now I need you to get out of my office while I figure out what our next move is." The leader smiled as John left the room

 **0900 Hereford base**

The team just got back from their op in Chicago. Eliza was waiting by the front door to greet her lover. She had no idea what had happened. She had a huge smile on her face. Seamus was the first one he gave her a friendly greeting. Frost followed close behind she gave her a look of worry. Siu walked in with Harding's bag on and his vest in her hands. Eliza became confused.

" _Why the hell is she carrying his gear?" she asked herself_

Blitz walked in and gave a worried look. Harding came around the corner with Meghan giving him assistance she could tell he was close to passing out. Between the concussion and the medication he was very loopy and tired.

"What the hell happened?" She with a nervous tone

Harding looked at her and frowned "You need to see Jordan he is not well"

She frantically ran to the medical wing knocking everyone out of her path she even managed to knock down the lord Tachanka. Her heart dropped like a nine pound hammer to see Gustave and Lera getting Jordan's life support hooked up.

"Is he ok?" she asked with her eyes tearing up

Gustave nor Lera had the heart to say that they didn't know so they lied.

"He is fine we have him sedated we will keep him here for a few days." Lera half smiled

She pulled a chair over and Eliza sat down in it and she took Jordan's left hand in hers and kissed it she held his hand like there was no tomorrow. She had seen Jordan injured before but never this bad. Lera sat next to her and patted her back. Mike watched them from a distance he had seen wounds like this before and people survive but also die from it. He sighed and sent a prayer up for Jordan. Meghan was assisting Harding to his dorm. Siu had already dropped off his vest and pack. Meghan reached into his pants her hand brushed against the side of his member and pulled out his keys. She smiled after feeling it and unlocked his door and they walked in she sat him on the bed slowly.

"I hope he makes it" He said quietly

"We all hope he makes it" she responded

He laid down on his bed

"I should have done more" he said

She turned around and sat on the edge of the bed "Look you got up from an explosion with broken ribs and a concussion just to apply first aid you did quite a bit. You and Elias saved his life"

"Yeah I guess so, but still I could have done a hell of a lot more"

She sighed and looked him in the eye and smiled softly. "You get some rest and stay in bed"

He smiled "Whatever you say mom"

Meghan smiled softly and shook her head. She thought he was a nice guy a little introverted but nice. She also thought he was a fine looking man but that was a whole other thing. She put his pack in his closet she noticed a few pictures on the inside of the door. She inspected them closely. The top picture was sunny and had five guys in it she didn't recognize them except Mitchell and Harding because they weren't wear a balaclava Mitchell posed as the Fonz from happy days. Harding was holding defibulator paddles to the other guy's chest the one being fakely revived looked like he was being shocked by the paddles. There were two others one was being very serious the other was relaxed yet serious. She smiled. She took the picture and flipped it over and in pencil was written _"Reaper teams 80_ _th_ _mission deployment"_ then at the bottom it read _"Reaper team's final mission ever"_ She put it back and there was another picture it was Harding and Mitchell looking over two coffins with the American flag draped over it they were in their service uniforms (Army Dress uniform). It was raining in the picture she could see an expert field medical badge, expert infantry badge, and a driver and mechanic badge with the driver-W and mechanic certifications under the main badge. On Harding's uniform. Mitchell's had an expert infantry badge, Expert E.O.D badge, and a Parachute rigger badge. Both had the pathfinder badges as well. Their berets were black with a red sigil on the front she couldn't tell what it was. She flipped it over and it read _"May the Hell Jumpers find peace"_ She frowned at the picture but she was curious as to who was in it. She looked over to see him sleeping she smiled and quietly snuck out of the room and shut the door quietly.

"Hey is he alright?" Mitchell asked

She nearly jumped ten feet in the air

"Jesus you gave me a heart attack" she replied putting her hand on her chest

"Sorry about that"

"If you mean Harding yes he is just sleeping and Jordan is still on life support" She looked at him. His eyes widened

"You mean he fell asleep with you in the room?" He asked in a surprised tone

"Yeah why?"

"Because he never sleeps with someone else in the room except for me or someone who is close to him"

She shrugged and yawned "I'm going to get some sleep"

Mitchell nodded as she walked off he entered Harding's room and took the Kevlar plate out of Harding's vest. He also snagged his body cam and helmet. He skulked out of his room and shutting the door. He looked at the Kevlar plate and the impact spots of the bullets.

" _These shots were way too accurate to be panic fire." Mitchell said to himself_

He walked to Grace's dorm and wrapped on the door. He heard some shuffling and he could have sworn he heard a British accent. A door shut it sounded like a closet door.

"Who is it?" she called from the other side

"It's Mitchell I need your help with something"

She cracked the door open just enough so that he could see her face

"What do you need help with?" she asked

"I need you to review some footage with me I need your technical expertise"

"Come in" She opened the door and grabbed her tablet "what are you trying to see?"

"I just need to see something from Fletcher's body cam" He handed her the body camera and she plugged it in and started playing the video.

"Jump to where he was applying aid to Jordan" She skipped to that part and let it play

The footage showed Harding getting shot.

"Stop it right there zoom in on the figure in black."

She did so but the footage was in really bad quality. She enhanced it without him asking. She looked at him his eyes were wide and something was bothering him.

"Is everything ok?" she asked looking at him in confusion

"No, it's not I need you to send that to me now"

She did so and rushed out of the room at top speed. After he left she walked over to her closet and smiled as she opened the door and pulled a shirtless Mute of her closet.

"That was to close for comfort" He smiled she returned the smile as they went back to what they were doing before Mitchell arrived. Though her curiosity was irked and she wanted to know more about Mitchell and Harding.

Mitchell barged into Six's office it startled her

"Do you know how to knock mister Packston?"

"Yes ma'am I do but this is very urgent me and you need to get to D.C right now and have a meeting with the secretary of defense right now" His eyes showed seriousness in every way

"Why is that mister Packston?"

"Because I have just found out that someone from a team I was on eight years ago presumed dead is alive and working with the white masks and that is all I'm at liberty of telling you so please listen to me this is very urgent because our team used to topple organizations all the time each second we waste is more of a tactical advantage for them." His voice had urgency in it

She could tell that he was going to get her to D.C one way or another she looked to her assistant in the room.

"Get the plane ready"

Mitchell nodded and pulled out his phone dialed a number. It rang once and there was an answer.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Secretary this is Mitchell Packston I need you to meet me and my associate at the pentagon in 5 hours I have a huge problem that could lead to multiple defense organizations being brought down" His voice was less urgent

"I will meet you there Mr. Packston I look forward to seeing you"

"You too sir." Mitchell hung up as Six walked out with her brief case

"We need to be at the pentagon in 5 hours"

She nodded and sent Mike a text saying that he was in charge of operations while she was gone.

 **1200 hours Hereford Base**

Harding had awoken from his slumber he got up and decided to visit Jordan in Medical room. He got up he was a little more stable than before he was at least able to walk by himself he had some dizziness still but not as bad. He also had a massive migraine. He slightly stumbled to the medical wing and he saw Eliza teary eyed looking at Jordan as he was sleeping still. He had an oxygen mask on his bandages had been changed. He took a seat next to Eliza.

"How has he been Red?" he looked at her

She looked at him in confusion "What?" her voice had a shake to it.

"How has he been Red?" he asked again

"Why did you call me Red?" she wiped her eyes

"Well because you have red hair and have an aggressive, fiery personality" He smiled softly

She softly smiled as she did kind of like being called Red "He has been sleeping he hasn't woke up yet"

"Hey I pulled something off him before the EMT's got their hands on it" he reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace that had a cross on it

"Oh my god I have been wondering where that went he never takes that thing off but, why do have it?" She had some joy but it turned into a small bit of aggression

"I took it off of him so the EMT's didn't throw it away or steal it"

"Oh"

"Open his hand or do you want to put it on him?" he asked

She took it and put it on him and smiled she hugged Harding tightly he winced in pain

"Thank you" she was very grateful that he had kept that cross safe.

"RIBS RIBS RIBS" He almost yelled

She quickly let go "Sorry'

"It's alright. I wish I could have done more for him" He said clutching his ribs

"You saved his life Fletcher between you and Elias you both saved his life" Gustave said from the door way he had a small smile on his face

He walked closer

"Ms. Cohen your Texan lover is going to be ok, just give him time"

He nodded as she blushed. Then the heart monitor let out a long beep she, Gustave, and Harding looked at Jordan. Her heart dropped as she began to panic. Harding made a run for the Defibulator. Gustave checked his pulse and started CPR. He started cursing up a storm in French Harding came back with the Defibulator.

Harding hooked up the defibulator as Gustave grabbed a breathing tube and set it in Jordan's mouth.

"CLEAR" Harding shouted as the Defibulator shock him

"No Dice, going for a higher voltage" Harding cranked up the voltage as Gustave squeezed air into Jordan's lungs.

Eliza covered her face as she began to cry. Lera was in the room and grabbed the adrenaline.

"CLEAR" Harding shouted

Jordan was still dead

"I'm taking the voltage up higher"

"Lera give him 50cc of adrenaline" Gustave commanded

Harding cranked the voltage one last time "CLEAR"

After the shock went through his heart started beating again and breathing. Harding disconnected the defibulator. Gustave looked at Harding with relief as he took the breathing tube out of Jordan's mouth and put the oxygen mask on him. Eliza was still crying and Harding hugged her tightly she didn't hug back because of his ribs.

"He's alright you are ok, he is going make it" Harding said softly

She cried into his shoulder as he stroked her hair and ran his fingers through like Jordan would she was shaking she was so scared. After a few minutes her crying subsided into sobs. He set her down in the chair she grabbed Jordan's hand and kissed it.

"Don't leave me Jordan please" she said nervously

Gustave waved his finger at Harding and he followed Gustave to his office and shut the door behind him.

"That's twice you saved his life." Gustave looked at him

"Ok, why are you telling me this?" Harding asked

"Well ever since you got here you have kept your distance and now out of nowhere you start saving lives and consoling their loved ones and I'm just curious as to why now"

"Well Gustave I have seen what happens when people don't spring into action and it happened to a lot of my friends in the desert and I have seen what death does to the wives, kids, and girlfriends of the deceased. We both know it's not pretty and if there is anything I can do to stop it then I will do so" Harding looked him in the eyes

"I also have another question why do you keep all that medical equipment in your bag?"

"You won't believe this but years ago I used to be a field medic and a good one at that. I never leave the base without some form of medical equipment I used to have a defibulator and all kinds of things but then I became a sniper and I cut down the amount of equipment I carried."

"Why wasn't that mentioned in your file?"

"Because it's highly classified information. Anything before the year 2014 has been only for the eyes of a select few people and after that year most of my stuff is still classified."

"I see, oh here I forgot to give you these" Gustave threw Harding a thing of Tylenol.

 **1400 hours**

 **Pentagon Washington D.C**

Mitchell and Six were in a conference room. He was taping his fingers on the table. Six was leafing through the file of Scotland Yard operator she had the file of another delta force operator next to her brief case. The door to the room opened and Mitchell stood up and saluted the secretary of defense. Six stood up and shook his hand.

"What is it that you needed Mitchell?" he asked calmly

"Well sir, I have discovered that the clown is still alive I have the footage to prove it sir" Mitchell looked him in the eyes

"Shit, follow me"

Six was very confused as she followed Mitchell and the secretary. He tapped on a wall and the panel opened they walked into a sound proof room. She has never been in this room before. The panel closed behind them. The room was lit by fluorescent lights and the walls were a dark blue with sound proofing materials on the walls.

"If you don't mind me asking ma'am why are you here?" Secretary Mattis asked

"Well, I'm his employer. If you don't mind me asking why all of this cloak and dagger stuff over one man" she kept her serious tone and face

"Well director because Packston's old team was one of the most effective delta units to exist they used to topple governments and terrorist cells on a daily basis and if one operator out of that team has survived and is working against us then well every government is in some deep shit." He looked at her

"Are you sure it's him?" Mattis looked to Mitchell

"Yes" He pulled out his phone and cropped the image so Jester's eyes could be seen and there was a regular Joker playing card sticking out of one of the pouches on Jesters chest rig. "If that isn't enough confirmation then I don't know what is"

Mattis looked at the image and nodded "Director, I'm going to give you access to Jester's file and increase your security clearance so you can see His file."

Mattis slid Jester's file across the table and with updated versions of Mitchell's file.

"Sir you better give her Fletcher's file as well he also made the cut to get on the team"

"I should have figured as much, how is he anyway?" Mattis asked and Slid Harding's file across the table as well.

"He's doing fine a little closed off as usual but stills is a smart ass and adrenaline junkie" Mitchell smiled

Mattis smiled as well "Nothing has changed I see"

"Not at all sir, I would like to catch up with you but unfortunately we need to get back tell the team what they are dealing with." He shook hands with the secretary

"You watch your ass Mitchell something tells me they aren't going to be so friendly when you meet them in the field"

Mitchell smiled and gave a nod as he hand six walked out. They got into a limo to take them to the plane.

Six started to read over His and Harding's file

 _(Updated Files)_

Name: Harding Fletcher

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 215lbs

Date of Birth: 11/16/1984 (Age: 34)

Background: Fletcher grew up in Rural Ohio, he used to be a well renowned street racer people say that his driving skills were phenomenal. He had to stop racing after multiple law enforcement agencies were looking for him. After he gave up on his street racing career he started becoming a fighter in amateur MMA. When he turned 20 he joined the United States Army and sent through Ranger school he holds the skills of a leader, however his authority issue has caused him to fight tooth and nail for a better rank. His superiors may not like his attitude on the field or how he performs a task, but they cannot ignore that he gets results. His superiors have granted him the rank of Captain but they have forbade him from going higher in rank. He is mainly instated in a second in command position. He has exceptional skills with a long gun and his exceptional field craft. He was begrudgingly recommended to join the Delta Force, he would only accept the offer if his friend and spotter Mitchell Packston could come with him. His reputation has followed him his entire career and most commanders and other high ranking officers will not work with him unless they are under specific circumstances. It was a long and hard fight for Fletcher and Mitchell to be accepted into the Delta Force. He was put through much more training to earn the title of tier one operator. He has a strong distrust for the CIA and other intelligence communities. He refuses to filter himself when talking about these communities. Almost every commander recommended him for Rainbow. Mainly to get him out of their hair.

He is a self-acclaimed master mechanic for anything with wheels and an engine. After his operator training he became a highly effective combat medic. He also built homemade pursuit vehicles to chase down HVT's with his Delta team. After Operation [CLASSIFIED] he and Packston were transferred to a new unit called [CLASSIFIED]. After Operation [CLASSIFIED] he trained to become a sniper.

Psychological Profile: Fletcher is not afraid to tell the truth no matter the situation. He is very protective of those he cares about. Especially Mitchell Packston. His authority issue drives from his personal convictions. He has been written up multiple times for this issue. He isn't very trusting of those around him he primarily keeps to himself. He is very cautious when he is given intel from an intelligence agency. He will sometimes triple or quadruple check information from these agencies. He has PTSD, episodes are very bad mainly occur in his sleep. Suggest counseling. Packston claims that the PTSD is self-inflicted based on the fact that he holds everything in and isn't trusting of people that are around him. He Finds working with tools therapeutic. He has a record for saving wounded enemies in the field or easing their pain until their passing..

Training: Army Ranger school, C.I.A Psychological Warfare Division, SERE, [CLASSIFIED]

Relevant experience: [CLASSIFIED]

Notes: Most of his files are blacked out

Name: Mitchell Packston

Height: 5'9"

Weight: 205lbs

Date of Birth: 7/14/1985 (Age, 33)

Place of Birth: [CLASSIFIED]

Background: Mitchell was an orphan from birth he went from orphanage to orphanage until he was adopted at the age of ten. He was a trouble maker all throughout middle school consistently getting into fights and stealing, until His freshman year of high school when he met Harding Fletcher who was a year ahead of him in school. Fletcher essentially became his "big brother" and it caused Mitchell to change his ways. Mitchell joined the United States Army when he turned 19 he was sent through Ranger school. His superiors saw that he was very good at improvising and solving problems on the battlefield when things don't go according to plan. They also noticed he had extremely good skills at lock picking and breaking and entering. He also frowned upon by most of his superiors. He will back up Fletcher in every situation and this has caused most high ranking officers to deny him any advancement in rank. he has been stuck as a first lieutenant for many years. He was offered and accepted into the Delta Force alongside Fletcher. Mitchell was put in the same unit as Fletcher after being accepted into the Delta Force.

He became a demolitions expert after his time in operator training. He has perfected the art of destruction with explosives. He has learned how to make a bomb out of almost anything. With his Delta team he developed incendiary grenades that have proven quiet effective in the field. After Operation [CLASSIFIED] he was transferred to another unit with Fletcher where his explosive disposal and creation served him well and he had defused over 65 homemade IEDs in one week with the [CLASSIFIED]. He managed to rack up 10 HVT kills with car bombs. After Operation [CLASSIFIED] he became Fletcher's spotter.

Psychological profile: Mitchell does not like to talk about his life before high school. He can get impatient at times which can cause problems but is a very controlled individual overall. He is also very good at manipulating people. He blends in very well in social events no matter what type of people are around him. Unlike his counterpart he is fairly high energy and is very friendly to most. Whether he is trusting of those around him is still unclear. He has suppressed some memories as he can't remember things that he had done in recent years according to Fletcher. Uses smoking as a coping mechanism. He does not like having his loyalties tested. **UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE** test his loyalty. Most that dom have elicited a physical response from Packston.

Training: Army Ranger School, Army E.O.D training, SERE, [CLASSIFIED]

Relevant experience: [CLASSIFIED]

She was quite amused by the files. She started reading Jester's file just find most of it classified but she could read some of it.

Name: Donny Reid

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 198lbs

Date of Birth: 12/16/1978

Date of Death: 6/8/2010 (Age 32 when K.I.A)

Place of Birth: Duluth, Minnesota

Backstory: Reid grew up in a middle class family he and his father shared a particularly close bond. He became a huge fan of the Green Bay Packers. After leaving a football game they were in a car accident which claimed his father's life. He was very traumatized by what he saw. After months of crippling depression. He found a way coping by making people laugh. Though his mom was going to have to sell the house to cover their debts. He quickly went out and found a job. He was working 50 hour work weeks by the time he was senior in high school. After he got his diploma he immediately enlisted in to the Army so he could get a benefits package for his family. He was sent through Ranger School and he was a natural when it came to building and restoring electronics after much training he became an expert hacker and it earned him a spot in the delta force team. He thrived in the delta force he developed a scrambler that could jam out just about any signal known to man. After operation [CLASSIFIED] He was presumed K.I.A

Psychological Profile: Very quick witted and isn't afraid to joke about anything. He always put his family before himself and doing what's best for them weather it was his blood family or not. He always pushes himself to succeed and out do himself while accomplishing his missions. His judgement can get clouded from time to time as he worries more about his friends and family more than the mission.

 **1700 hours Hereford Base**

Everyone was concerned about Jordan some more so than others. So they kept themselves distracted with other activities. Eliza never left the medical wing as she patiently waited for her boyfriend to wake up. The others were in the rec room watching Pirates of the Caribbean Stranger Tides. Oliver, Gilles, Dominic, Mark, Alexander, Maxim, and Miles were playing poker. Mike was busy making sure that the Adriano and Aria were getting there time in on the simulations. Harding was in the room watching the movie much to everyone's surprise as he rarely had socialized after joined the team. Most were happy just to have night off to themselves. Blackbeard in the movie made his first appearance. Harding smiled and looked at Craig.

"Hey Craig look it's you." Harding smiled

"You're damn right it is that's why nobody fucks with me." Craig shot back

"And that's why shield breaks if you look at it funny, right?" Ela piped up

Jack spit out his beer in laughter as most of the defenders laughed as well with some attackers in the mix. Craig smiled.

"At least I didn't lose my impacts" Craig chuckled

Ela stopped laughing almost immediately. She was still sore about losing her impacts.

"That's not funny Craig" She shot back

"If you can't take what you're dishing out don't jump into the brawl" Craig just smiled.

She just went back to her phone. Mitchell walked into the room with everyone greeting him. He stood behind the sofa that Harding was sitting on.

"How was Mattis?" Harding asked

"He was good he asked about you" Mitchell responded

"Yeah what did you tell him?"

"That you were doing fine and nothing changed."

"Alright"

"How is Jordan?" Mitchell asked

"Go see for yourself little brother"

Mitchell walked over to the medical wing to see Eliza bent over in her chair with her head on Jordan's bed sleeping. Jordan was awake stroking her hair he woke up an hour ago but Eliza was asleep. Mitchell smiled and Jordan put a finger to his lips telling him to be quiet. Mitchell sat on the opposite side of Jordan.

"What did Gustave say?" Mitchell whispered

"He said I will be fine just I won't be back in the field for a while and that I have to stay here for a few more days" He responded in a hushed tone

"Good, You shouldn't scare us like that again or she might actually kill you" Mitchell smiled

"I know, I'm happy that I am alive I heard what Harding and Elias did I can't believe he did that for someone he barely knew." Jordan just smiled

"Well he does a lot of things to save lives he always puts others before himself. I'm glad to see that you are still breathing you get better and make sure she sees that you are awake because she is really scared that you might meet your maker when she doesn't want you to" Mitchell smiled and patted Jordan's shoulder and walked out.

Jordan smiled and looked at his lover and patted her back "Eliza, Elizzzzaaaa" He said

She shifted and sat up. She opened her eyes to see him staring at her she had a huge smile on her face and she hugged him tightly avoiding his chest wound and she smothered him with kisses. She looked him the eye.

"Don't you ever pull that shit on me again" She had a serious look but a smile

"I promise I won't do that shit ever again" He held up his right hand as if taking an oath.

She smiled and crawled in the bed with him and laid on his left side avoiding the wound.

"I love you Mr. Trace"

"I love you too Ms. Cohen"

They shared a kiss and she stayed in his bed for the night.

 **A/N: I know I had one of these at the begging of the chapter but I didn't want to spoil any anything. So the three guys at the begging Donny, Keegan, and John have retained their looks for the most part except for natural aging. Thank you for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8: Hints

**A/N: Hey guys I managed to finish chapter eight before the semester started. This picks up right where seven left off. I honestly don't know when the next chapter will be out as I haven't even started it and the Semester is going to be crazy from what I can tell. I appreciate everyone reading my story and I hope you all are enjoying it so far. Please have patience with me as I have a full load of college classes I will still try and get chapters out. Enough of my rambling. I want everyone to know that Harding and Mitchell know Nomad very well and they are friends. Please leave a review and let me know if I missed any errors. Enjoy!**

 _ **Chapter 8: Hints**_

 **June 9, 2018**

 **2200 Hours Hereford**

The ops were still in the Rec room enjoying their small break from training and just relaxing. Meghan ended up joining Harding on the sofa watching T.V. She was rather tired as she didn't sleep well after coming home from Chicago. Mainly because she was worried for Jordan. Harding was tired as well but more from the pain killers for his ribs. Mitchell joined the game of poker with Oliver, Gilles, Dominic, Mark, Alexander, Maxim, Miles, and Mike. Zofia was in a Skype call with her kids and husband she was speaking polish she had a huge smile on her face as she hasn't been able to talk to her family for a few months. Grace was on her tablet as usual at the back of the room. Chul as usual was watching quietly mainly keeping an eye on Grace.

"Dominic did you stack the fucking deck again?" Oliver asked as he lost the hand

"Nein, I didn't stack the deck" Dominic lied through his teeth but made it appear as if he was telling the truth and no one bought it.

"Yeah right, no one wins six hands in a row" Alexander spoke his voiced carried through the room

"No kidding you need to return our money you bastard" Maxim smiled

Dominic just smiled sheepishly as he returned the money and left the game.

" _I almost got away with it" Dominic said to himself_

Meghan was fighting sleep she was really trying to stay awake but the air conditioner was making the room nice cool and she found it very relaxing. She was in a black tank top with blue shorts. Every time her eyes would shut she would force them open. She eventually couldn't fight it anymore and she curled up on the couch and drifted into a deep sleep.

"Come on lads you are making it to easy" Mike boasted as he was destroying at the poker game

"Damn it I fold" Mitchell said as he had pure junk

"I'm all in" Alex pushed all his money to the center of the card table

"I'm out" Gilles said throwing his cards on the table

"I call" Maxim said keeping a serious face

"I fold" Miles sighed

"Same here" Oliver said as he laid his cards out

"I'm out" Mark spoke

"I'm in" Mike said

It was just the Russians and Mike. Alexander had a royal flush. Mike had four of a kind and Maxim had a Full house

"Flip 'em" Mike said

Everyone flipped their cards. Alex just smiled as Maxim sighed. Mike shook his head.

"Of course the lord gets the best hand" Miles smiled and shook his head

Alex took his winnings with pleasure

"I'm going to call it a night guys I lost to much money" Gilles said getting up from the table

"I second that" Oliver shook his head and walked away

Everyone left the table.

Thirty minutes had passed since the lord decimated everyone at the poker game. Harding was still watching T.V. He felt something grab his left arm at it was Meghan. He looked down and saw that his arm was perfectly between her breasts and his hand by her crotch. His face started to turn red. He tried to get free and she tightened her grip on his arm. He turned a darker shade of red and tried it again and she squeezed his arm even tighter.

" _Fuck Fuck Fuck" He screamed to himself_

"Five more minutes" she said in her sleep

"Meghan I want my arm back" he responded thinking she was awake.

"No" she replied. She was totally unaware she was speaking in her sleep.

Harding tried to get free again and she hit him the ribs. His eyes widened and it knocked the wind out of him. He clutched his ribs. Mitchell walked by and smiled

"What are you doing there brother?"

He took in a breath of air "Trying to get free she won't let me have my arm back could you help me please?"

"Any other time and I would help but this is too funny. So you are on your own" Mitchell smiled and took a picture of them

"You better delete that" He gave Mitchell a death glare

"Nah man, I'm going to send it to everyone" He smiled

"I'm going to beat your ass later" Harding said flipping off Mitchell

"You have fun brother" Mitchell smiled

Harding sighed as he accepted his fate. Mike chuckled and sat on the coffee table.

"You may as well forget about going anywhere for now" He said

"Why is that?" Harding asked

"Because she doesn't let go of anything in her sleep." Mike smiled

"Why is that?" he asked

"We could never figure out why. I remember her first week here and she was asleep on the plane ride home and Emma decided she needed to take a selfie with her sleeping and well she grabbed hold of Emma and nearly choked her out. Luckily we were able to wake Meghan up and she let go of Emma but after that we learned to stay an arm's length away when she is sleeping. So you are pretty much stuck for the night." Mike responded

"She also hits in her sleep she just cracked me in the ribs pretty good" He put his hand on his ribs

Mike just laughed

"Do you think you could help me get free?" Harding asked

"The only way would be to cut off your arm" He chuckled

Harding let out a frustrated sigh. Mike just chuckled at the dismay of the American.

"I'll at least get you guys a blanket" Mike went and got a blanket and covered them both up.

"Thanks" Harding said with a frustrated tone.

Mike chuckled and walked off. Harding knew he wasn't going to get any sleep as he doesn't sleep when he is around people he doesn't know. He also knew it was his own fault for not socializing. He looked at Meghan and smiled as she looked peaceful as she slept.

 **June 10, 2018**

 **0830 Hours**

Mike was the first one to go to the rec room because he wanted to check up on Meghan and Harding, mainly to make sure that she didn't break his arm off. He looked the room over to see Harding and Meghan still on the couch. Harding had his head on top of her head asleep. She was still holding on to his arm it was still attached and the correct color. She was using his shoulder as a pillow. Mike sat on the coffee table and nudged Meghan. She groaned and shut her eyes tighter. He nudged her a little harder and her eyes fluttered before she opened them all the way.

"Morning Meg" he said with a smile

"Morning" She said her voice is raspy

He handed her a cup of coffee. She gave a smile and she lifted her arm and she noticed a third arm she looked up to see Harding. Her eyes followed his arm and she noticed his hand was very close to her crotch. She quickly let go and blushed hard and covered her face in embarrassment. Mike smiled.

"You fell asleep on the couch and grabbed his arm he tried to get free but you gripped his arm really tight and hit him in his ribs" Mike chuckled and spoke in a hushed tone

She blushed harder and grabbed the cup of coffee and took a sip "I don't know why I do that" she replied quietly.

"Maybe it's because you are lonely" Mike said after bringing his right ankle on top of his left thigh

"But I don't feel alone, I mean I have so many friends here that I treat like family." She responded and looked at him

"Ok, when was the last time you had a boyfriend or girlfriend?" Mike asked

"Boyfriend" she gave a small glare "Honestly I can't remember" She ran her finger around the rim of the mug.

"Maybe that's why and it's your heart and soul telling you to get involved with someone on a romantic scale." He gave a reassuring smile "But if you do try dating someone, choose someone that will respect you and actually love you. There are a lot of man whores on this team believe it or not" Mike always held a special place in his heart for Meghan he viewed her as the daughter he never had. He always watched out for her whether she knew it or not. If someone were to break her heart and he found out God help that poor bastard.

"I will Mike thank you for the coffee" She nodded to him he smiled

"No problem" He smiled and walked off

As Mike disappeared into the base Harding slowly woke up he took in a huge breath and gritted his teeth as he forgot his ribs were broken. He clutched his ribs and cursed under his breath. He looked over to Meghan and smiled softly. She blushed as she was still embarrassed.

"You know out of my entire military career I have never been used as a pillow or a teddy bear" He smiled standing up stretching his legs

"S..Sorry" she looked away at the wall with her face still red as a tomato

"It's ok just I'm surprised I was able to sleep and heavily. Normally I can't sleep if there is someone I don't really know. I'm generally awoken by the smallest sound on top of that." He said as his bones popped and cracked from sleeping in a seated position.

She watched him and as he stretched. She noticed a tattoo on the inside of his right forearm. It was the skull of a longhorn with barbed wire wrapped around it. Her eyebrows furrowed. He sat back down.

"That's a neat tattoo" She said after taking a sip of her coffee

He smiled "Thanks, yours are very nice as well"

There was an awkward silence between the two. After a few minutes Meghan broke the silence.

"Is there a meaning behind your tattoo?" she asked

"Yeah there is. Back in high school when I was still running the streets and evading the law, my friends and everyone called me the outlaw so I figured I should symbolize it in some way and the word outlaw made me thing of the wild west which was filled with cattle drivers way back when. Which is why I chose the long horn. I chose the barbed wire just because it looked cool" He smiled

"I have never seen one like that before" she smiled

"I'm not surprised" he nodded his head

There was another awkward silence between them. He couldn't help but snag glimpses of her. He thought that she was gorgeous he loved her eyes just how they could cut through all the bullshit or at least that's what he thought.

"All Rainbow call signs report to the briefing room" The P.A cut through the air

Harding and Meghan both got up and walked in and they were handed a file. Meghan sat with Ela. Harding was at the back of the room his eyes went over the file and his eyes widened at the name.

"I know you are all wondering why you are here. It has come to my attention that there is another force that is embedded in the White mask organization, Mitchell here will give the details." Six spoke in her usual controlled tone.

Mitchell walked to the podium and opened up a file. He took a breath and looked at everyone as he turned on the projector with a remote. A picture appeared on the screen of Jester it was black and white but it showed his face he was smiling.

"This here is Donny Reid former delta force operator, His former call sign was Jester as in court Jester. As it says in his file he has extensive tech training and counter insurgency training. He is a top tier hacker he has taken out entire defense systems and communication systems with a laptop it crippled the organization he was trying to take down. He has breached the Pentagon secure servers and he stole lots of information on key operations and undercover operations."

The picture on the projector flipped and it was the same picture that Harding had in his closet of Reaper team. The difference was that everyone had black X's over their faces except Jester's. Meghan's jaw dropped and her eyes widened when she recognized the picture. Everyone nodded.

"What is his behavior other than cracking jokes on the field?" Jack asked looking over the file

"Sporadic, unpredictable, and he always will push himself past his limits to complete his mission." Mitchell responded Jack nodded

"Does he have a special Gadget of any sorts?" Emma asked

"Yes it's a signal scrambler that he carries on his back it can block out pretty much any signal except sat com phones" Mitchell looked at her

"Do you know how it works?" she asked

"No I do not" he responded

"Thank you Mitchell" Six said and nodded as Mitchell stepped off the podium and Six took the podium "Now this man made an appearance at the Chicago operation that put Jordan out of the field, So from now on I want everyone to keep their eyes peeled for this man. According to both Mitchell and the Secretary of Defense from the United States have specified that this man is very dangerous so watch your backs dismissed."

Everyone was filing out of the room Harding and Mitchell were just about to walk out but Mike grabbed the collars of their shirts and dragged them back in the room. He had a hunch that Harding knew about him as well so he grabbed him too.

"What the hell, Mike?" Mitchell asked

"Sit down" was all that Mike responded with. He shut the doors to the briefing room. Six was watching them closely. Harding and Mitchell sat down.

"What the hell is this about?" Harding asked

"I want to know how you know so much about this guy" Mike said in a commanding tone and looking to Mitchell

"I" Harding looked at Mitchell "We, were in the same unit as him when he "died" in fact we were there that night when he did "die"" Mitchell said making quotes in the air around die

"Are you still corresponding with him?" Mike asked crossing his arms

"No" Mitchell said curtly with anger starting to rise in him

Six watched quietly from the back as she was curious to see Mitchell's reaction.

"What about you Fletcher?" Mike turned to Harding

"No, sir we both thought he was dead" Harding said coolly

"Are you two still loyal to Rainbow?" Mike asked

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN?!" Mitchell yelled as he stood up "OF COURSE WE ARE STILL LOYAL TO RAINBOW DIDN'T YOU LISTEN TO US WHEN HAD THIS CONSERVATION THE FIRST TIME?" Mitchell was pissed

"Don't raise your voice at me son" Mike said in a commanding tone he stared Mitchell right in the eyes. "Yes I did listen"

Mitchell was more pissed he grabbed Mike and slammed him face first into the table with his right arm behind his back.

"Then why did you ask if we were still loyal?" Mitchell asked his right nostril was twitching from the rage in his blood

Harding came up and threw Mitchell to the floor and pushed Mike away. Harding kept Mitchell pinned to the floor by putting his foot on his back holding to the floor.

"Mitchell you need to fucking cool it" Harding looked to Mitchell then pointed at Mike

"You need to understand that we are loyal to Rainbow and the free world we don't lie about shit like that" There was a tone of authority in Harding's voice.

Six was very intrigued by this interaction. Mitchell lay on the floor he knew not to try and fight Harding as he was a much better and coordinated fighter.

"I'm just trying to cover this team's ass you two don't have a very open history and you could be working with some other government stooge." Mike said as he and Harding had a small stare down.

"You know if I was working against you I could have just let Jordan die right there on the asphalt with no one to comfort him to the other side" Harding was staring daggers into Mike.

Mike sat there and he didn't even think about that and he knew that Harding's statement was true. He just walked out of the room quietly. Harding helped Mitchell off the floor and six walked over.

"You will have to excuse him he is very hard to earn trust with." Six said

"Yeah well he needs to fucking trust us we might have a sketchy past but we don't work for anyone except you director. I'm being very serious." Harding said

"I know you guys don't work for anyone else but this organization. I trust you. I will talk to Mike and see if I can get him to understand. You gentlemen are dismissed." Six nodded as the two walked out

 **1500 Hours Hereford**

Mitchell was very upset with Mike so Mitchell decided to workout. He walked into the gym it was pretty much empty aside from Tina on the treadmill and Maxim sparring with Lera. Mitchell walked over to a bench and loaded it to 250lbs for his warm up. Despite him being short he has a lot of strength. He was going through his reps pretty quickly almost too quick. Tina caught on to Mitchell's abnormal behavior. As Mitchell racked the weight she came into his vision with a smile. She had a sky blue tank top, she had a black sports bra on based on the straps that were visible on her shoulders with black short shorts with a set of Nike running shoes.

"Need a spotter?" she asked

"If it makes you feel better then go ahead" Mitchell replied he said it calmly she didn't quite catch that he was being a douche.

He loaded the bar for 315lbs and started doing his reps

"So what's on your mind?" she asked

"Things" he said in between reps

"Mike asked about your loyalty again didn't he" She looked at him

"How did you know?" Mitchell looked at her in confusion. He racked the bar and sat up.

She sat down next to him "Well it was kind of hard not to hear you yelling"

He turned red from embarrassment "You heard that huh?" he looked down

"Yeah but you know I heard that more aggressive men are great in bed" She smiled at him

He looked her with his face turning a deeper shade of red and wide eyes. _"What the hell brought that on?" he asked himself_

She laughed "the look on your face"

He shook his head and smiled. She looked him in the eyes after her laughter subsided.

"If it means anything I trust you"

"Yeah it does mean something at least you trust that I'm loyal to the team." He smiled as he looked into her eyes and she looked into his.

What they thought was a few seconds was really a few minutes they were totally lost in each other's eyes just admiring them. It was like staring into their souls. She could see the rough childhood Mitchell had and the pain that he had to go through to get where he is today. But she could also see the love and respect he has for his adoptive parents and Harding. He could see the hunter in her and her killer instinct. He could see her loneliness and how she was mistreated by guys. As they stared they were completely unaware of Maxim and Lera standing in front of them.

"Hey guys" Maxim said

Mitchell fell off the bench as that scared the shit out of him. Tina jumped and her heart did the same she felt her heart skip a beat.

"Damn it Max don't fucking do that" Mitchell said picking himself up off the floor

Maxim and Lera were laughing hard at Mitchell. Tina smiled.

"Ah, come on even you have to admit that was funny" Maxim smiled

Mitchell did smile. Maxim pulled out his phone and showed them a picture he took of them staring into each other's eyes.

"I think we should send this to the team what do you think Lera?" he smiled

"You know that sounds like a good idea" She smiled

Mitchell shrugged his shoulders "Go ahead see if I care"

They were all shocked by Mitchell they didn't expect him to say that. He had a smile on his face Tina was blushing like crazy just imaging the teasing from her fellow operators. Mitchell did care but thankfully Maxim decided against it.

"I saw that Harding got caught in the Castellano death trap last night" Maxim smiled

"Yeah he did" Mitchel smile

"I swear she likes him or at least likes to look at him" Tina smiled

"What makes you think that?" Mitchell asked

"Well when you two arrived she couldn't seem to take her eyes off him and she has kind of been stalking him." she replied

"No kidding it's like where ever he is she isn't too far behind" Lera said

"I never noticed" Maxim replied

"Yeah but you are always busy building traps or working with your knife" Lera smirked

"Well until she confesses that she likes him nothing will happen" Mitchell said taking a seat on the bench press

"Why is that?" Tina asked

"Well if there is anything that he doesn't like is hinting and beating around the bush or dropping subtle hints. He will only take action if she straight up asks or confesses. Unless he caves and asks first" Mitchell looked at everyone

"How do you know that?" Maxim asked

"I have been friends with him since high school I know just about everything about him" Mitchell smiled

"You two are like Captain America and The Winter Solider" Tina said

Mitchell had an epiphany the last phrase echoed through his head he was able to picture and remember who said that to him before. _"Son of a Bitch Tyler Manford" Mitchell said to himself_ he snapped his fingers.

"What is it Mitchell?" Maxim asked

"I know who the lieutenant is" He said standing up and walking out

The lieutenant that was captured a month ago on Mitchell and Harding's first op with Rainbow was being worked over by Cav. Her usual methods would get many masks to talk but this one proved resilient. She couldn't get his name but he only gave tid bits of information. Mitchell was on his way to grab Harding to give this mask a good work over.

 **1900 hours Interrogation room 5c Hereford**

From the observation area Seamus, Six, Aria, and Meghan were watching from the one way mirror. They were wondering how Mitchell got the name of the lieutenant. Mitchell was in the chair at the table. Harding was leaning against the wall both were in their combat gear minus their helmets and balaclava. Taina barged in the room with the lieutenant and she forced him into the chair opposite of Mitchell. Mitchell cuffed the lieutenant to the table and smiled. Taina leaned up against the door.

"Well if it isn't the ghost and his fire breathing friend" The lieutenant smiled

"Whatever you say Tyler" Mitchell returned the smile "I want to know everything you know"

"Take a hike fuckstick" Tyler spat

"Tell me what you know or I will have one of my colleagues here to use a more direct way to make you talk" Mitchell stared him in the eyes

"Do it I dare you" He smirked

"Alright" Mitchell threw some pictures across the table they were of Manford's daughter and wife

Harding walked to Tyler's right side. Tyler became uneasy though he didn't show it.

"You know it would be a damn shame if something happened to them" Harding smiled evilly

"I won't tell you shit" Tyler said with a slight shake of nervousness

"That's fine in fact I hope you don't because then I can go there and have a very personal visit with both your wife and daughter then my good friend in the corner there *points to Taina* will make them suffer through even more pain. You know I can make it all look like it never happened. No one would notice your wife or daughter missing until it was way too late. You couldn't do anything to stop me because you are a weak minded shit. Who cares more about his pride than his family." Harding had the look of a serial killer on his face. A chill went down Mitchell's spine as he should be used to the look but it still scares him. "I enjoy killing people very much especially women"

"Go ahead" Tyler said his eyes were filled with fear. Harding smiled

"Are you sure you want that Tyler? Because he will rape your wife and daughter and kill them without a care" Mitchell said the rape and murder part was fake as Harding couldn't do it. "I have seen him do it before and it's pretty nasty"

"Do it" Tyler squeezed out his voice was weak

"Alright, Come on Cav we have to go make a friendly visit" Harding said walking for the door. The buzzer went off so they could exit Harding opened the door slightly.

"Alright I'll talk, Just leave them alone" Tyler shed a tear

"Then talk to my friend there and if you lie I will make that trip to see your wife and daughter" Harding smiled as he walked out.

Harding and Taina walked to the observation area everyone looked at Harding with disgust. There was tension building in the room.

"Ok, for the record I don't rape or murder innocence. I just say things like that to get under peoples skin and make them talk." Harding said

The tension did fade but the room was still silent

"How do you and Mitchell know this guy?" Seamus asked

"As it turns out he was a liaison for the Santa Blanca cartel for their operations in North America. I had got a tip from an old friend who is currently in Bolivia working the cartel over and me and Mitchell went under cover and we assisted the operations until we were able to get him locked away in a federal prison. He was selling the coke to the White Masks and they must have busted him out of prison and made him a lieutenant"

"So he was a drug runner?" Aria asked

"No, more like a kingpin and supplier for a lot of the dealers in the US"

"Did you botch that op too?" Aria asked with some hatred

"No I didn't" Harding calmly responded

The tension rose to a whole new level in silence

"Nice work mister Fletcher" Six said breaking the tension

"Were there any suspicious people to show up at your headquarters?" Mitchell asked

"Yeah two years ago after the Bartlett job that you guys fucked up there were three guys who claimed they could help us and our cause. So the boss allowed them sanctuary with us and noticed they had a knack for military hardware and software. So he kept them around in a private area" Tyler spoke

"Where do they plan to hit next?" Mitchell asked

"I don't know, I did know about the Chicago operation but after that I have no idea. There are rumors going around that they are going to hit a big target in a city and they ae going to rack up an impressive kill count from what I understand" Tyler looked at Mitchell

"Do you know when or where?" Mitchell asked

"I know it's happening a few months from now but that's all I know" Tyler looked at Mitchell again.

"Thank you for your cooperation" Mitchell smiled.


	9. Chapter 9: Once More Unto The Bridge

**A/N: I know the chapter name is bad but if you have suggestion for a better one I would gladly accept it. Also I want to give a shout out to reactiverainbow he has an amazing story that everyone needs to check out the title Rainbow Six Siege: Undercover I can't stop reading it. So please go read it has no O.C's and an amazing plot. I hope everyone is enjoying this story I appreciate everyone that is reading this. Please leave a review and enjoy!**

 _ **Chapter 9: Battle Tested**_

 **June 20, 2018**

 **1000 hours**

It had been two weeks since the interrogation there were no crises that Rainbow was needed to respond to over the weeks. Harding's ribs healed enough that he could workout but he still wasn't cleared for field duty. Jordan was still laid up he really wants to get out of his bed and actually do things but Eliza has found ways to keep him entertained. Mitchell had entered into a whole new side of himself that Harding hasn't seen for quite some time. Mitchell had been scavenging every file from just about every intelligence agency that exists thanks to him having friends in all the right places trying to figure out the White Mask's big play. Grace and Jack had even started helping Mitchell. Mike got a nice ass chewing by Six over the fact that he won't trust Harding and Mitchell. Harding wanted to check up on Jordan as he hasn't done so in a while. He walked into the infirmary to see Eliza grabbing his crotch as they were about to do something.

"So you guys like doing it in public places?" Harding said from the doorway

They both jumped and started blushing. Harding chuckled.

"When is ol' gus going to let you out of here?" He asked

"I don't know man he said that after my stitches come out that I could go back to room and at least walk around but that's all I would be able to do." Jordan spoke in an annoyed tone "although the bedside service here is great" He smiled and Eliza blushed harder

"Man you would be proud of Mitchell right now his dorm looks like an FBI command center. He is also so deep in the damn files that you almost need a shovel to get in his room." Harding smiled

"That's what Jack said when he came down here" Jordan said. Eliza nudged his arm. "Thank you for saving my life" Jordan said with some annoyance because of Eliza.

Harding chuckled and pulled out his phone and made it make the sound of a whip cracking "She has you that whipped? Please don't thank me either you can thank me by getting back in the field when you are ready"

"I'm not at liberty to comment on the question but believe me I will get back in the field as soon as possible" Jordan smiled

Eliza smiled "We both thank you for what you did"

"You don't like to listen do you" Harding chuckled lightly

"No I don't" She smiled big

"Ash, Inferno, Finka, Montagne, Lion, and Lesion report to the briefing room" The P.A sounded

Jordan looked over to Eliza and she gave him a kiss "Be careful out there" Jordan smiled

"I'll be careful you better not do anything stupid" She smiled and walked out the door

Mitchell was leaving his room and Tina passed him in the hallway.

"Give 'em hell Mitchell" She said with a smile

"You know I will" he replied

As he walked away she turned around and watched him walk out of the corridor.

" _If he only knew what he did to me. God he's got a great ass" She thought to herself_. She couldn't help but bite her lip and smirk.

"What are you staring at Tina?" Sebastian asked with a smile

She blushed hard "n-nothing" she stammered out

"You were checking him out weren't you?" He chuckled

Her face burned a bright red as she looked away and darted past him and disappeared to her room. He just laughed as he loved to tease her about her crushes and boyfriends. The operators gathered in the briefing room. Six was at the podium.

"C.I.A has discovered that there is a white mask hideout in Redmond, Oregon they have the equipment to make more of the chemical weapons that they so fondly use. This is a preemptive strike. You need to get in the building eliminate all threats with extreme prejudice and destroy all the equipment and defuse any bombs you may come across. Your plane is waiting for you."

The operators nodded and they walked to the armory Mitchell dressed in his usual combat wears. He traded his M16 in for a more powerful rifle which was a river rock arms LAR-458 chambered in .458 SOCOM extreme penetrators with 300 grain. He put an ACOG and flash hider on it. As he was loading the ammunition into the magazine Oliver and Liu took interest in his choice of weapon.

"Those are some big ass bullets" Liu said

"Oh yeah, they will shoot through bricks if I need them to and body armor is pretty much worthless against this round" Mitchell smiled

"You take extreme prejudice to a whole new level don't you?" Oliver asked

"Oh Yeah, it's similar to the Beowolf rounds but I prefer these" Mitchell smiled

The all grabbed their respective loadouts and they got on the plane.

 **1200 hours over the great plains of the United States**

Finka was giving her booster shots to everyone.

"I still hate this part it always makes me feel sick when you inject me with this shit" Gilles shook his head as he rolled up his sleeve.

"Well quit being a pussy and grow a pair" Lera smiled

Everyone chuckled

"It takes major balls to do what I do" Gilles fired back

"You mean to stand in a room and stare menacingly" Lera moved onto Liu for his injection

Everyone started laughing. Gilles shook his head then smiled.

"Is that how you talk to Alex?" He smiled

She blushed which made Liu laugh more as she walked to Mitchell

"Yes in fact I do" She lied

"Oh really, then why do you get so flustered around him and you always seem to put this over joyous personality on" He kept his smile

"Your treading on awfully thin ice there shield boy" She tried her best to make a threat

"What are you going to do about it?" he said in a mocking tone

She sat down quietly backing out of the conversation. Gilles chuckled.

 **1600 hours Redmond Oregon**

The team had landed at Redmond municipal airport it was at least a thirty minute drive off of state route 126. They got out one mile down the road and walk the last part the came to the construction area.

"Alright Monty take point we are going to enter through the basement and travel up taking out every one we can then we will resweep the building for intel and other important items am I clear?" Ash asked quietly

They nodded Lion sent his drone into the air over the building as everyone attached a suppressor to their guns. They slowly entered the building Monty was trying his best to keep his steps quiet. They came to the hallway that led to the laundry room.

"Split up Lion, Finka, Inferno take the stairs and take the meeting hall and push to the back of the complex we will take the upstairs together" Ash said

"I'll take point" Mitchell stated

Monty pushed up into the hall giving room for Mitchell, Finka, and Oliver to get through. They slowly went upstairs. Lion used his recon drone (not the EE-oned) to scan the tower it was clear they pushed to the meeting hall. Inferno leaned to the right to see two White masks talking.

"This Armor will stop any bullet you can think of" one mask said strapping on a plate carrier with the armor in it

"Even a fifty cal?" the other asked

"Pretty close to stopping one" the mask smiled

Mitchell smiled he fired off one round and it ripped through the body armor without an issue he quickly dispatched the other mask. As they snuck by lion looked at the hole in the armor and he couldn't help but chuckle.

" _Damn he wasn't kidding" Lion spoke to himself_

In the basement they peered into the laundry room Ash looked to Lesion and nodded. He smiled as he looked between the gap of Monty's shield and the door frame and he let his suppressed smg sing as the white masks fell to the floor he threw a couple of gu mines behind them so no one would surprise them.

"Lion give us a scan" Ash said over the comms

Mitchell, Finka, and Lion were already in the kitchen.

"That will alert them of our presence" Lion whispered as he prepped a shot on a mask

"I know but we are already on our way upstairs" Ash said

"Alright giving you eyes on the hostiles" he responded

The drone vibrated the building the data was sent to lion's pda on his wrist. He Mitchell took out the three masks in the room adjacent to the kitchen. He looked to his pda.

"Alright you have three in the armory, two in kids room, one in master bed room, and two by the bunks they know we are here now so there is no need for suppressors" Lion stated

The ops took off their suppressors. Lion stood under one of the masks from the dining hall (the room next to the kitchen, I don't know if it's dining hall or something else) Mitchell and Finka pushed up the stairs as Ash was ready to rush from the lobby.

"Boosting Adrenals" Finka stated as pressed the button on her glove Ash ran up the stairs at top speed taking down the masks in the Armory. Mitchell switched his rifle to full auto and the sound of the rifle was deafening. (Imagine any of the DMR's with full auto fire. You should not fire .458 at full auto either). He took out two in the kid's room he could feel pain in his shoulder from the rifle. Lion fired a burst through the floor to kill the third mask in kid's room. One of Lion's rounds went straight through the White Masks nut sack and it travelled up through his body and came out the top of his head. Lesion was able to get the one in master bed as Ash rushed in and got the two in the bunks. Mitchell messaged his shoulder.

" _Note to self never shoot .458 at full auto" Mitchell spoke to himself_

"That was easy" Ash said with a smile

"No that was way too easy why wouldn't they have more people here?" Monty asked

"Who knows fan out and search for anything important" Finka said

Mitchell walked to the armory and noticed a bunch of baby blue spray paint and primer white Kevlar helmets.

" _What the hell would they need all this paint for?" Mitchell asked himself_

Lesion saw wires he followed them to the tall tower. Ash and Monty went to the laundry room to see a laptop in the closet Lion and Finka were looking for traces of the X gas. Lesion made his way to the second floor and he looked behind a steel plate to see a rather massive bomb and it was beeping. When Lion droned that part he mistook it for something else. Lesion grew pale.

"I found a huge freaking bomb on the second floor of the tall tower" His voice was nervous

"Hang on let me look at it" Mitchell said as he sprinted to the bomb he looked it over from the outside and he took off his bag and took out a pair of wire cutters and a miniature screw gun. "This is a really big bomb everyone out of the building now"

No one argued with Mitchell as he knelt in front of the bomb and took off the face plate. He saw a ridiculous amount of wiring and a black bar that looked like a deactivated timer. Ash and Monty grabbed the laptop off the counter and noticed there was a piece of paper that said "BOOM" on it in all caps. The timer on the bomb lit up it was going to go off in the next five minutes adrenaline filled Mitchell's system as he took off his gloves and covered his hands in chalk which he had in his bag as well.

"Whatever you did just turned on a timer we have five minutes I'm going to try to defuse it but you guys need to get 1,000 yards away this will level the building" Mitchell said in a cool tone as he put his wire cutters in his mouth as he started pulling out the wires.

"Mitchell pull out now just let it drop the building there isn't anything left here" Ash said as the team was getting ready to sprint out from the building, but then large 12 inch thick steel plates shut at all the windows and doors.

"We're trapped" Monty said looking at the door

"Everyone needs to stay calm and breathe I'll get us out" Mitchell said looking at the wires and tracing them with his fingers. The clock read 4 minutes 25 seconds

Lesion walked behind the bomb and was looking at all the explosives on the bomb. "Son of a bitch there is over twenty pounds of homemade C4" There was panic in his voice

Mitchell shook his head and looked to Lesion "Chill everyone needs to chill the fuck out and stay quiet" he concentrated on the bomb he had it narrowed down to four wires green, blue, red, and orange. The clock read 3 minutes 15 seconds

Everyone gathered around Mitchell watching him work they were all extremely nervous there was a large amount of tension in the room as it was dead quiet there were all kinds of thoughts running through their heads. Mitchell was calm, cool, and collected. The bomb ticked down to 2 minutes and 30 seconds. He had it down to Blue, red, and orange.

" _Come on little friend" Monty said to himself_ he set down his shield

" _Did I water my tree?" Lesion asked himself_ thinking about his sapling that he started growing when he joined rainbow

The bomb ticked to 1 minute Ash kneeled next to Mitchell and she followed the blue wire it was connected to a battery. She noticed the orange wire was connected to what was a detonator.

"Blue is the power source and orange is the detonator" Ash said

"I already knew that" Mitchell said looking at the wires

"So cut the blue one" she looked at him

"I can't because if the circuit shuts off it could set it off" Mitchell ruled out the blue one

"Cut the orange one" Ash was starting to get frustrated

"Shut up and let me focus" Mitchell said with some hostility

"No cut the…" Lion covered her mouth

The bomb was at thirty seconds. Monty, Lesion, Finka, and Lion were in a quiet panic. Mitchell took a breath and he had it to the red and orange wires. Mitchell sighed and closed his eyes.

" _Come on lady luck" Mitchell spoke to himself_

He cut the red wire and the bomb stopped at 5 seconds Mitchell let out a large sigh of relief and he smiled.

"Bomb defused now we need to find a way out of here" Mitchell had a huge smile

Ash was still a little pissed "Why didn't you cut the orange wire?" There was hostility in her voice

"Because there could have been a transponder that would set off a tone and detonate the explosives so it was better to cut the explosives from the timer confusing the cpu thinking the explosives were being replaced" Mitchell looked her dead in the eyes

"Well well well I see your expertise has grown quite far there Mitchell" There was a speaker system in the building it cut through the silent air

Mitchell's eyes grew wide as he recognized the voice "Jester?!"

"Bingo kid, it's been a while hasn't it?"

Everyone looked at Mitchell in confusion "Why did you join the masks you fucking traitor?" Mitchell asked

Jester let out an audible sigh "I'm doing this for the greater cause Mitchell these governments are always betraying and stabbing people like us in the back and they keep secrets that shouldn't be kept. They are doing more shady shit than you know."

"You know and I know that the masks are trying for world domination so why are assisting them?" Mitchell had anger growing in him he never really got along with Jester but they worked together fairly well.

"Mitchell, Mitchell, Mitchell if only you understood our plan. Now get ready for a fight" Jester said as one of the doors opened and thirty white mask poured into the lobby

The ops took a defensive position in the meeting hall lion set a clay more on the main door Mitchell covered the main door looking to the kitchen. Lesion threw his mines all over the main door. Ash was there roamer she ran from the basement up to the lobby flanking the masks. She managed to chalk up four of them before she hauled ass back through the laundry room to the tall tower she ran to the second story as the masks got to the first floor she managed to get all three of them. She darted into the meeting hall lesion threw a mine at the door and Monty stood in the door with his shield extended.

"SURGE INCOMING" Finka shouted at the top her lungs

The chemical concoction hit their systems. Mitchell had four masks coming from the kitchen he unloaded a mag the rounds went through four of the masks with next to no issue.

"WE NEED EVAC RIGHT NOW" Lion shouted as he took out the white masks from the garage

Finka tried the radio

"VOODOO 1 WE NEED IMMEDIATE EVAC" Finka shouted

All she got was static in return she tried calling it again just to get static.

"I CANT REACH THEM" she yelled

"HE'S JAMMING US WE ARE GONNA HAVE TO HOLD OUT" Mitchell yelled as he slammed a fresh mag into his rifle.

 **1800 hours Hereford**

Six was in a small panic as she lost contact with the team at Redmond. The command center was bustling with techs trying to get a hold of the team. Emma, Masaru, Grace, and Mark were assisting. No one else really knew what was going on so most were just continuing with their day. Meghan just got done with a swim and a shower. She had sweats and a navy blue shirt on. She was walking through the dorms and she faintly heard music. She followed the sound and stopped at the door and the name read Harding Fletcher on the door. She cracked the door open he had his feet up on the desk with a budwiser to his right. He had his old beat up tennis shoes on with a grey t shirt and jeans. He was fixing a watch though she couldn't see that. The song was _Bullets in the Gun by Toby Keith_. He felt a pair of eyes on him.

"What do you need Meghan?" He asked without looking up from the watch he turned down the volume on the music.

She blushed as she didn't expect him to know it was her "N-nothing I just heard music and I was wondering where it was coming from."

"You can come in, I'm just relaxing" He smiled softly

She walked in and closed the door behind her she sat down on the bed. The scent of alcohol was in the air. He was probably the only operator who listen country aside from Mitchell.

"How can you listen to this?" She asked

"I listened to it growing up and I absolutely love it. How can you not listen to it?" He asked looking at her

"It's so slow and boring" She smirked

"Oh great another one of those" He put emphasis on those but it was a lighthearted jab

"What you mean by that?" She asked with a smile. He was acting strange but she couldn't quite figure it out.

"I don't like country music because I can understand what the artist is saying." He said in a sarcastic voice

She let out a soft giggle "Are you feeling alright? You seem very relaxed more than normal" she asked

"Well I'm in-between buzzed and drunk so that has to be a part of it" He responded and Beer for my Horses started playing

She sat there and smiled and just stared at his face studying every inch. He went back to the watch he was fixing. She just loved his hair he was the only male operator to have hair that went down to their neck. She want to feel the stubble on her face she couldn't explain why but she just wanted to touch it.

"Are you going to keep staring at me or what?" He asked

She snapped back into reality. She ran her hands across her face hiding her blushing. "I want to apologize for the other night when I grabbed your arm"

"Hey it's alright you didn't cause any damage other than hitting me in the ribs" He smiled

She finally noticed the watch he was fixing it looked a Rolex.

"You fix watches?" She asked intrigued

"Yes I do it's a small hobby of mine I did it back in Fallujah." He took a sip of his beer

"Oh, Is that yours?" She asked

"Hell Naw, this is Craig's he said it had been broke for a while and he wanted it fixed for formal events"

"Ah I see" She was watching closely

Alex came into the room he was surprised to see Meghan "Hi Meghan, Fletcher they want you in the Command center"

"Hi Alex" She replied

"What do they want?" he asked slightly annoyed

"They think you can help with reestablishing communications with the team in Redmond" Alex replied

Harding sighed and shut his computer off before walking out. He had visible frustration on his face. As he left Meghan decided to look at his room in more detail. On his dresser there was a picture of what she presumed to be Harding and who she thought was his dad they were working on a car in barn. They both looked to be focused on the car. She couldn't tell what it was but it had blower on it and the car wasn't painted as it only had grey primer. She looked up above the dresser to see a "Don't Tread on Me" flag draped on the wall. She looked to his desk and there was a framed picture of Harding and Mitchell standing in front of a lake. Harding had his arm around Mitchells shoulder smiling with his right hand up in the air with his thumb up. Mitchell had his left hand in the air in a fist. Both looked extremely happy to be wherever they were. She had never seen either of them smile like that since they had joined the team. She smiled.

" _They were really happy people I wonder what changed them" she asked herself_

Monika was heading to Elias's dorm and she saw Harding's door open and she went to close it but she saw Meghan looking around his room.

"Now I know you like to stalk people on the cameras in the simulations but prodding around in their personal effects is a whole new level" Monika smirked

Meghan jumped as she had no idea Monika was there. She started to blush as she was absolutely speechless. Monika couldn't help but let out a small laugh as it was rare to her friend speechless. Meghan was able to come up with a reply.

"You did the same thing with Elias" Meghan shot back a little too defensively

"But he was in the room with me." Monika responded

" _She is really defensive she must like him" Monika noted to herself_

"Do you like Fletcher?" Monika asked with a smirk still on her face

Meghan just blushed harder wanting to bail out of the conversation she looked away. Monika bit her lip to keep from laughing. Meghan sighed.

"Ok, so I like him but I don't need the entire team to know about it ok" Meghan whispered with her face still a bright crimson.

"I von't tell anyone. It's funny to see you like this" Monika just smiled and walked to Elias's dorm. Meghan left Harding's dorm so she wouldn't get caught by anyone else.

 **Hereford Command Center**

Harding walked into the door just see everyone rushing around the room. He calmly walked to Six.

"What's the problem?" he asked not very enthused about being in the room

"We have lost communication with the team at Redmond and maybe you could help shed some light on the issue." Six replied

"When did you lose communication with them?" Harding asked sitting down at a terminal

"We lost communication not to long after they cleared the building we lost their body cams as well"

"Did you see a skull and cross bones by any chance?" Harding looked to Six

"Yes we did" Six replied

"Well then we are shit out of luck because the only way to get comms back up is to destroy the jammer but we don't know where Jester is so all we can do is wait. Unless one of them is carrying a SAT COM phone, which none of them do. So we just wait." Harding replied

 **2300 hours Redmond Oregon**

It had been seven hours since the team arrived at the complex. They are almost completely out of ammo aside from a few mags here and there. They were in a lull between fights. They are very tired. Mitchell's shoulder is hurting from the constantly firing his rifle. Monty's arms hurt from the impact of the bullets on his shield. The glass on his shield is worthless as he can't even see out of it. Ash's legs are very tired from having to constantly running. Lesion ran out of the toxins for his mines he was very fatigued just like the others. Finka wasn't as tired but she didn't take her neuropathy treatment before she left and now she was paying the price for not taking it. Lion took his CBRN mask off as it was shattered in a fight with a mask. He ran out of ammo for his Vector he was using an L85 from a mask.

"You guys are more resilient than I thought you are lucky I have gotten orders to pull out so this their last chance to take you out" Jester spoke through the speaker system

"What's a matter? Too much of a pussy to come fight us like a man? Huh? You worthless piece of shit scumbag" Mitchell said as he was pissed

"It wouldn't be a fair fight even with all of you." Jester chuckled

"That's a load of bullshit and you know it" Ash said wiping the sweat from her brow

Jester started laughing "Whatever you say Wendy"

"I'm going to fucking kill you" Ash said with malice in her voice

"Well you might want to get ready for a fight" Jester said before opening the door one last time before leaving the console that controlled the complex.

"CONTACT FRONT" Lion yelled as he started opening fire.

"I HAVE HAD ENOUGH EVERYONE TO THE BOMB" Mitchell shouted as he sprinted to bomb with the team in tow.

Monty, Lion, and Finka set up a perimeter around Mitchell, Ash, and Lesion.

"HELP ME GET THIS THING WIRED FOR OUR DETONATORS" Mitchell yelled as the gunfire was so loud

They started to work on the bomb and re calibrating it

"HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO GET OUT?" Monty asked blocking the stairwell

"WE WILL TAKE CARE OF IT JUST KEEP COVERING US, ASH OPEN DETONATOR SEE IF THERE IS A MEGAHERTZ COUNT" Mitchell yelled

Lesion added a few nitro cells on to the bomb that he stole from the armory. Ash opened the detonator on the bomb and in yellow writing it read 20.8 megahertz.

"IT'S 20.8 MEGAHERTZ" Ash replied

A smile developed on Mitchell's face. He picked up his rifle and fired both incendiary grenades at the window. They burrowed into the steel plating and exploded but it didn't take out the window.

"ASH HIT THE WINDOW WITH YOUR BREACHERS" Mitchell yelled

She turned and fired both breaching rounds into the window still no dice but it was extremely close to being destroyed.

"LESION IMPACT THE WINDOW" Mitchell yelled Lesion did so and the window fell to pieces.

"EVERYONE OUT THE WINDOW RIGHT NOW" Mitchell yelled as he rappelled and shifted to the left of the window

One by one the ops got out the window and ran to the APC they drove Mitchell was the last one down he got 800 feet away he flipped on his radio figuring Jester left.

"Boom" Mitchell said into the radio and the bomb went off

The bomb dropped the entire building Mitchell was flung a few hundred feet. Everyones ears were ringing. Finka ran to him as the masks were trapped in the building Mitchell had smoke coming off his uniform. She kneeled next to him.

"Mitchell get up" She said to him she waved her hand in front of his face

He started laughing as he got up "I'm fine" He said between laughs

"What's so funny?" Finka asked assisting him to the APC

"I didn't know if that would even work" He laughed

Finka gave him an are you fucking kidding me look. Mitchell just laughed harder as he got in the APC. His laugh was very contagious as everyone except Finka started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Monty asked

"I didn't know if that would work" Mitchell said

Everyone looked at him with a stare and they stopped laughing. Mitchell kept laughing.

"Wait what?" Lion asked

"I figured the bomb ran on a frequency similar to our radios and I just figured jester left and the scrambler was gone. But if it wasn't we would still be in a fire fight right now." Mitchell's laugh turned into a chuckle

Everyone just looked at him in awe that he used luck as an escape plan.

 **June 21, 2018**

 **0500 hours Hereford**

The plane ride home was fairly quiet as everyone really just slept. They told Six what happened and there was relief throughout the base after hearing they would be back. They walked into Hereford with blood and dust still on their uniforms all were very tired. Lera ran straight into medical wing and gave herself the injection for her neuropathy. Eliza went to the medical wing to see Jordan. Mitchell, Gilles, Oliver, and Liu hit the showers after dropping off their arms. Mitchell's shoulder was extremely sore it hurt to touch it. He walked out of the showers in sweats and a t shirt. He got to the dorms and Tina was going to get breakfast still in her sleep ware and she "accidently" bumped into him she hit his shoulder.

"Fuck" he winced in pain

She turned around quickly "I'm sorry I didn't mean to hurt you" she apologized

"It's ok just my shoulder is sore after firing that gun for so long" He moved his arm around trying to elevate the pain in his arm "I could use a message"

Sebastian came out of his dorm as heard Mitchell's voice he wanted to make sure he wasn't dreaming because he didn't hear about them returning. "Mitchell I thought you were long gone"

"Nope I'm still here" Mitchell responded trying to ease the pain in his shoulder

"You know Tina has a sports rub that might help with your shoulder, she could also help you put it on" Sebastian smiled deviously as he knew what he was doing

"Could I use some of it Tina?" Mitchell asked

"Y-yes" She stammered out

She opened the door to her dorm he sat down on the bed.

"Take your shirt off" She blushed but she had her back turned to him as she was grabbing an ointment

Mitchell looked at her "Do I have to?" his face was turning to a slight red

"Yes" She managed to force out as she almost stammered

Mitchell did so and she turned around. She blushed really hard and she was staring at his at his abs and chest. As he very well chiseled. She slowly walked over and sat next to him and she put some of the ointment on her hands and messaged his shoulder. The room was dead quiet aside from his grunts of pain it was very awkward. She desperately wanted to run her hands down his body she was able to hold off though. Mitchell just looked at the Canadian Flag on the wall his face was a bright red. After five minutes or so she finally finished she could tell he was tired. Mitchell wanted to break the silence and he did so

"You know, you could have bought me dinner before getting me in bed" Mitchell smiled

She giggled as the tension in the room faded

"If you want you can stay here and sleep" Tina looked at his face

He smiled "I think I will take you up on that offer if you really don't mind"

"Not one bit" She smirked as kept looking in his eyes so she wouldn't look at his body

"Thanks Tina" He smiled back

He finished getting in her bed after he got under the covers she left the room.

" _He has a chiseled body as well if we start dating I won't be able to keep my hands off of him" She spoke to herself_


	10. Chapter 10: Whadda ya Know

**A/N: Hey everybody I managed to squeeze this out. I realized I made an error with one of Mitchell's rifles It's not soapmod it's actually SOPMOD sorry about that. The next chapter will give more insight with Harding and Mitchell's past. I also wanted to make sure that it was clear that Harding has blamed himself for the supposed death of Reaper Team and he has constantly guilt tripped himself. I wasn't sure if that was clear or not so I just wanted to specify. Shout out to Marineraider77 for the chapter name suggestion of Chapter 9. I hope everyone is enjoying the story don't be afraid to leave a review. Enjoy!**

 _ **Chapter 10: What'd ya know**_

 **June 21, 2018**

 **Time unknown location unverified**

The air was thick, the sky was without light not even a star. The streets were filled with debris and remnants of military vehicles. Skyscrapers were in a blaze as far as the eye could see releasing black smog into the sky. Bodies were burning in the street the stench was terrible. There was a busted T-72 tank in the middle of the street the driver and gunners corpses were strewn about across the tank. Harding was walking down the street his MDR at the ready he was on his own. His uniform was covered in blood, dust, and slightly scorched. Not a single operator in sight. He slowly proceeded down the street. He was Frosty as hell his eyes scouring every inch of the street checking for the enemy combatants.

" _Where is everybody? We were supposed to meet at the RV an hour ago and still no radio contact. What the hell is going on?" Harding asked himself_

He was extra cautious he turned the corner and looked up to see the white house partially in flames. It was almost completely destroyed. He proceeded to the white house he entered the building through a hole in the wall. He got to the oval office to see Smoke, Mira, Pulse, Jager, and Kapkan on the floor dead. His heart sank he had no time to mourn as he was on mission. He pushed out to the hall way to see Blackbeard, Montagne, Blitz, Glaz, and Fuze who suffered the same fate as the other five in the office. Harding pushed on he made it to the cafeteria he saw tables flipped Lesion, Doc, Rook, Caveria, Echo, Tachanka, and Finka strung about dead. He closed his eyes and trudged on. He saw Ash and Thermite holding each other's hands on the floor in a pool of blood but they were long gone.

" _At least they died together" Harding said to himself_

He heard a feminine scream from one of the other rooms. He hauled ass sprinting at top speed there were other rainbow operators strung about on the floor but he couldn't stop to see who it was. When got to the room there was no combatants just death. I.Q, Sledge, Thatcher, Mute, Dokkaebi, Vigil, Ela, and Zofia were in the room they all had passed away thanks to cranial gsw's. He saw Frost on the floor her throat was slit her skin still retained its color.

" _God Damnit, this just happened" He said to himself_

He picked her up and laid her on the couch that was in the room. He closed her eyes to make it appear as if she was sleep. He walked back out into the hall there were foot prints comprised of blood on the floor he followed them to the end of the hall he stepped into the room to see a figure in black standing over Valkyrie. The combatant had his pistol drawn it was a Sig Sauer P227. She was sobbing but she had already taken mortal wounds she was going to die anyway but Harding didn't know that.

"Please…Don't…" her voice was weak and shaky

"Sorry Sweetheart but I have to you were on the wrong side" the figure spoke

Harding's heart skipped a beat he raised his rifle and before he could let the round rip through the enemies head. The combatant pulled the trigger. Killing Meghan. The shot seemed to echo for days. Harding could feel a rage build inside him gripped his gun tightly his knuckles were white. The combatant smiled and darted into another corridor. Harding followed him to end of the hallway to see three other figures in black they turned around. It was Hades, Jester, and Anubis.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL" Harding shouted he ran right at them

He wasn't thinking straight as his rage blinded him. They stood there smiling. Harding couldn't figure out why. He heard a gunshot. The bullet hit him in the back and went straight through him and out his chest. Harding stopped dead in his tracks he turned around it was Mitchell. Harding fell to the floor, Mitchell walked by and looked his "Brother"

"Why?" was all that Harding could say.

"There was no other way brother we had to do this. It's for the freedom of the people. This is the greater cause. No government will try and hide secrets from anyone anymore. No more C.I.A spooks, no more betrayal, just whole hearted freedom." Mitchell spoke in a cold tone

"I loved you as a brother Mitchell, You are the only family I had. Why did you have to do this?" Harding's voice shook

"Fletcher I really wanted you to live but sadly you were on the wrong side at the wrong time. We are doing this for the greater good. Besides you only cared about yourself and no one else. I'm sorry but this had to happen. May find peace in your rest. Goodbye brother" Mitchell spoke in a cold and harsh tone and he stepped away.

Harding grabbed his handgun and aimed it at Mitchell. He put his finger on the trigger but he couldn't pull it as he loved Mitchell and couldn't find the strength to do it. Dropped the handgun and slowly slipped into the dark abyss.

Harding snapped awake in his bed sweating and clutching his chest just below his heart where the bullet would have exited had his dream been real. He was breathing heavily he ran his fingers through his hair. His hands shook slightly. His heart was beating at 90 thousand miles an hour.

" _That was…a little too vivid" Harding thought to himself_

He looked at his clock it 8:00 am. He swung his legs over so he would be sitting on the bed he looked to the floor as he tried to slow his breathing.

"Fuck me" Harding said aloud

He sat there for a few minutes gathering his thoughts trying to relax. He chuckled softly.

"For once it wasn't PTSD. But shit" He spoke

He managed to slow his breath but man that dream scared the ever living shit out of him. He got dressed and walked out of his room. He gave a friendly hello to the operators he did see. He went straight to the motor pool he knew working with tools and on a vehicle would calm him down for sure. He didn't even stop to get breakfast. He got to the motor pool most of the on base mechanics were too busy to notice him. Harding walked over to an APC that needed tending to. He pulled a tool box over and a roller stool he sat down and got right to work. He started to dismantle the vehicle piece by piece. Elena would go to the motor pool every so often so she could get away from Emma's constant barrage of "science shit" as Elena called it. She liked Emma but she could get carried away when they would work on projects together. Today was one of those days as they had started working on the CCE shield for a new operator they knew nothing about. She walked in greeted by most of the mechanics. She looked around to see what she could do. She was very surprised to see Harding in there. He was taking the front passenger side tire off. He took it off like he was working in a NASCAR pit crew. She walked up behind him.

"I'm surprised to see you out here" She spoke

"JESUS" Harding nearly fell of the stool. He turned around. "You scared the shit out of me" he had his hand on his chest keeping his heart inside of his chest.

She let out a chuckle "what are you doing out here?" she asked

After Harding recovered from his mild heart attack he responded. _"I'm trying to forget a nightmare as usual" His mind spoke_ "Well I'm fixing this APC" deciding to hide the truth

"Do you know what you are doing?" she asked

"Yeah I've built my own cars before with less material and tools than what I got here" He looked at her as he took off the brake drum.

"Would like a hand?" She asked

"If you really want to" Harding said as he looked at the brake pads

She smiled and opened the hood. Harding looked up at the engine and shook his head before going back to the brakes.

"What are you shaking your head at" she asked

"The engine is pathetic it barely makes 2-3 hundred horsepower at the tire I have built a skeletal car that had VW beetle engine that made more horsepower." He took the brake pads off

She looked at him quizzically "What would do if you were building one of these?"

"Well I would get me 7.3 power stroke put a twin turbo system on it with race headers and forged pistons. A standalone fuel management system. Then build a custom transmission that can keep up. Add a bigger air intake. High pressure oil pumps. waste gate. And an intercooler system. That should press the engine to roughly a thousand horsepower and possible 700 at the tire." Harding looked her

She was rather impressed she thought she was the gear head on the team. "I could make lightweight armor plating that would allow for less weight." She looked down at him as she took the manifold off

"That would work then have the Minotaur software adjust the transmission for maximum fuel mileage and power then redo the gearing in the rear end to allow for speed." Harding looked to her.

"It would be able to keep up with most escape vehicles." She responded

"No kidding" He said replacing the brakes

"I thought I was the only gear head on this team. I'm glad someone else has technical experience with cars and trucks." She smiled

"Well you sure aren't and man I need to show you the picture of the car me and my dad built." He couldn't help but smile

"Oh, yeah what was it?" she asked

"A 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT with a supercharged V8 total custom exhaust system a nitrous oxide system. That thing is literally a monster on wheels in the quarter mile it could rip into the low nines." Harding had a huge smile on his face

"Did you ever drive it?" She asked as she deep into the engine

"Yeah I did in fact I drove it just about every day to school" Harding chuckled "That's the car I used to get famous in the area no one could beat me. Hell this one kid had a 57 bel Air with an engine pulled from a stock car and he was arrogant. He thought he could beat me. So at midnight we met out on one of the usual spots to race and there was everything from S curves to long straights. That kid couldn't even keep up with me. Every time we went through a corner the dipshit would try and drift the damn thing and well he eventually totaled it when he sent the damn thing into a tree. I nearly beat the snot out of that bastard for wrecking a classic" Harding smiled

Elena let out a huff of amusement and smiled softly. "Did Mitchell ever drive it?"

"Yes he did when he and I went on our tour of America"

"Tour of America?" she asked

"Yeah, I and Mitchell grew up in rural town that was low income so we didn't to go on vacation a lot so we decided to take a tour after he got out of high school." Harding finished with the breaks and he started looking over the engine with Elena

"Your parents were ok with that?" She looked to him

"Yeah they were. They knew we could handle ourselves and that we weren't going to pull stupid shit." He smiled

"Hmmm" She hummed

As Harding and Elena delve deep into the APC being the grease monkey's that they are. Jordan was released from the Medical wing but he couldn't work out or strain his cardio vascular system other than walking. Eliza was stoked that he could leave and they could actually sleep in the same bed once again.

"I'm glad that we can finally sleep together again" Eliza said walking Jordan to her dorm

"I am too but remember Gustave said we aren't a loud to fuck for a few more weeks." Jordan looked at her and gave her a kiss

"You dumbass I meant sleep in the same bed without fucking" Eliza smiled

"You better watch who you call a dumbass miss" Jordan gave a stern yet playful look

Eliza just laughed "What are you going to do? Gustave told you no major physical activities"

Jordan sighed as he was in an argument that he was surely going to lose. Eliza gave him kiss.

"I'm happy that you are out of the medical wing though" She smiled

"I am too" He smiled and grabbed her ass

She playfully hit his chest were it wouldn't damage or hurt him.

"Oh shit it's a dead man walkin'" Jack shouted from down the hall

Miles opened his door "Where the hell is this zombie?" He looked down the hall "well shit look who it is"

Jordan looked at him "look Eliza if it isn't dumbass 1 and dumbass 2" He smiled

"No need for insults" Miles smiled big

"It's good to see you walking man" Jack said as he patted Jordan's shoulder before disappearing into the base

"Come on Jordan" She pulled his arm and she yanked him into her room

As Eliza gave Jordan a welcome back Bj Tina needed to get something from her room. She walked in and saw Mitchell peacefully sleeping.

" _He is just adorable" She spoke to herself_

She rummaged through her desk looking for a special tool that she uses to build her traps. She found the tool she was looking for and she turned around and saw the tent created in the blanket by Mitchell's morning wood. She blushed furiously.

" _Oh my God look at that, damn" She spoke to her self_

She couldn't stop staring she even zoned out and Mitchell woke up he was still tired but he could feel someone's eyes on him. He looked up and blushed and he used his hand to push it down.

"Well this is awkward" He said looking away from Tina

"Y..Yeah" She was stammering and her face burned a deeper crimson

They both sat there in an awkward silence neither knew what to do. They were blushing like crazy. Both avoided eye contact. Mitchell did sleep shirtless and his upperbody was out of the covers so Tina was having a difficult time keeping her hands and eyes off him. His erection finally decided leave him in the awkwardness. Mitchell got a smirk on his face he looked to her.

"Well did you like what you saw?" Mitchell couldn't help but smile

Her eyes widened and she had a shocked expression her face. She then smiled and playfully smacked his face playfully before walking out.

" _I'll take that as a yes. I'm glad she is a good sport about it" Mitchell spoke to himself_

He put his shirt on and walked to his room. He pulled his journal out of his desk. He started an entry.

 _June 21, 2018_

" _Found out that Miss Tsang is attracted to me it's kind of funny it's like she is afraid to admit that she wants to go on a date I wouldn't mind going on a date she is very pretty. I think she is hesitant as she probably has been mistreated and cheated on much like have been. Maybe she is waiting for me to take the initiative. I don't know but it's funny to watch her get flustered…"_

 **1200 hours Hereford**

Both Elena and Harding had rebuilt the APC they tore to pieces. Harding had forgotten about the dream he had. Elena had started telling Harding about the shield that she and Emma were building. He understood most of it except when she used big engineering terms. They went to the mess hall he sat with her and Ryad talking about the shield and their past time with their dads in the garage. He was enjoying the conversation as it had been a while since was able to talk to someone who understood cars. Meghan was sitting with her usual gang which was Ela, I.Q, and Finka. Every so often Craig would join them but he was busy elsewhere. She saw who Harding was sitting with and enjoyably talking to. She actually started to feel jealous that he was paying attention to another women and not her even though they weren't even dating or some much as brought it up. Lera and Monika caught on quickly as she kept looking over to the table that Harding was at. Ela was just ready to get back to training so she could prove that she was better than her sister.

"Vhat's got your attention Meghan?" Monika smirked

"Nothing" she said turning back to her tray

"I think you are jealous" Lera smiled as she teased

She blushed softly but not quite enough that others could notice

"What would I have to be jealous of?" She put on an annoyed look

"Oh, I don't know maybe it has to do with the fact that your crush is talking to another woman" Lera continued to tease

Meghan looked to Monika with anger. Monika just shook her head and put her hands up surrendering.

"Meg she didn't say anything to me I figured it out on my own you aren't exactly sneaking when it comes to stalking someone" Lera chuckled

Meghan blushed now

"You know a little bird told me that Harding isn't a guy who likes hints" Lera spoke

Meghan looked up at Lera.

"Who told you that?" she asked

"His best friend. I thought you did intelligence so how did you not figure that one out?" Lera asked while taking a light hearted jab

"Even I figured that one out" Ela jumped into the conversation

Meghan just sat there and thought to herself and finally it clicked. She face palmed. Monika and Lera both laughed.

"Plus Meghan when he does socialize with us. He glances at you often sometimes he even stares. I have my doubts that he wants to be with someone that has a buzz cut" Ela said in her usual cold tone

"I guess that is true" Meghan replied as she thought back to the morning after she trapped him in her sleep

Mike stood up on a table at the head of the room

"HEY"

Everyone looked to Mike wonder what he was going to say

"There has been a change of schedule the simulation training has been pushed up to thirteen hundred hours everyone needs to be there on time, and I mean you Shuhrat. Also CQC training has been pushed back until tomorrow. That's all I have to say you can keep stuffing your faces."

Shuhrat was rarely on time generally Alex or Maxim you drag him to where ever he needed to be. Mike jumped off the table and everyone went back to eating.

"Vell if you have any anger you can take it out on him in zhe simulation" Monika spoke

Meghan nodded. Harding walked by to empty the trash on his tray he walked by Meghan and winked at her with a smile. She blushed softly.

 **1300 hours VR training room Hereford**

Every operator gathered in the simulation room waiting to be assigned to a team. The ones who were on mission the day before didn't have to participate if they wanted to. Eliza decided to spend her time with Jordan who was also excused from the exercise. Oliver, Lera, Gilles, and Liu opted out but they would watch. Six was picking the teams.

"For Blue team I want Ghost, Inferno, Thatcher, Blitz, and Hibana Orange team: Valkyrie, Bandit, Mira, Maestro, and Jager. You will be fighting on Boarder objective is to defuse the bombs." Six said

Everyone got setup in the VR gear. Thatcher still didn't trust Harding or Mitchell and Six knew it she was forcing him to work with them in hopes he would start to trust them. Harding went with his Ballista with an ACOG and a suppressor he had flashbangs as his secondary gadget. Mitchell chose his M4A1 Sopmod with an ACOG and a compensator and frags. The defending team went to armory lockers. Thatcher and Mitchell chose to spawn at the main entrance (I don't know the actual name for it). Harding, Hibana, and Blitz chose to spawn at the crash scene. The attackers droned out the building Blitz found the objective.

"Zhey are in zhe armory" Blitz said

"Yeah they got a Mira window facing the balcony batteries are on the wall" Harding spoke

"They have a Mirror in fountain" Thatcher said

"I can that Mirror" Hibana spoke

"I can get the main walls into site" Mitchell said

The defending team set up Maestro was going to run out and set up his evil eye on the balcony incase Bandits batteries were destroyed. Valkyrie had her cams set up across the building. Jager was going to spawn peek from balcony at objective. Bandit was going to be lurker and roam close to the objective. The attacking team spawned in. Thatcher and Mitchell started to run to the main walls Jager stepped out and opened fire Thatcher took some damage before diving behind cover Mitchell looked up at the balcony from the van and Jager ran inside.

"You good Thatch?" Mitchell looked to him

"Yeah I'm good"

"Alright let's move"

Blitz, Harding, and Hibana were already at the window of fountain Harding peered in watching carefully for someone he cloaked himself so the window would just appear open. Maestro was checking his second evil eye which was in fountain the thermal imaging could still see Harding. Maestro started firing his evil eye. He landed three shots before Harding could get away.

"Fuck Maestro knows we are here Blitz get ready for a rush." Harding looked to him

"Is it too late to bathroom" Blitz replied in his joking manner

Hibana shook her head as she was watching the corners that Blitz couldn't. Harding joined them he had their six. The pushed into the door way that would take them to the stairs outside of fountain. Valkyrie was ironically sitting in fountain behind the desk she threw one of her cams on to the doorway that lead to fountain she could see all three of them. She prepped her nitro she chucked it down the hall. Harding and Hibana were able to get away however Blitz couldn't get away and died to the nitro cell.

"Blitz down" Valkyrie said before moving behind the Mira in fountain

Thatcher threw his EMP's to the walls. He took out the Bandit batteries and an ADS

"Breech the walls" Thatcher looked to Mitchell

Mitchell fired both of his grenades into the walls after a few seconds both of the walls were blown to pieces. Mitchell threw a frag behind the divider at the back of Armory. The grenade exploded he got Maestro.

"That's Maestro"

Mitchell finished his statement before Jager head shot him from CCTV. Thatcher quickly reacted and took out Jager it was a three v three.

"Bandit get back to site" Mira spoke into their comms

"On my way" Bandit started to make his way back

He sprinted to the stairs outside of fountain. Hibana was outside droning fountain. Harding was watching the hallway to fountain. He heard Bandit coming and cloaked himself and as Bandit ran up the steps Bandit was at the entry way the hallway completely oblivious to Harding being there. Harding grabbed Bandit and snapped his neck for a silent takedown.

"Bandit down" Harding spoke

"You two rush from that side and I'll push from this side here and pinch them we won't have to put the defuser down." Thatcher said

"We can do that on your mark" Harding replied

He and Hibana pushed into fountain. They both readied their flashbangs to toss into the bomb sight. Valkyrie was watching them on her cam she readied her MPX for the push. Mira was waiting patiently for Thatcher to push.

"Be ready for the push Meghan" Mira spoke

"I'm ready" Valkyrie replied

"On three…two…one…Mark" Thatcher shouted

Hibana and Harding threw their flash bangs into the bomb site. However Valkyrie was ready for this and she turned her back so she wouldn't be blinded. Harding and Hibana pushed. Valkyrie quickly dispatched Hibana.

"OH SHIT" Harding panic fired his rifle.

Thanks to the close range he was able to down Valkyrie with the one shot. As he walked over to finish her off and plant she pulled her deagle and splattered Harding's brains all over the wall. She smiled and held her wound. Thatcher was able to get into the other site but Mira was sitting where Maestro was and Thatcher was more concerned about the small office in the room and he didn't notice Mira. Mira smirked and let her Vector rip through its magazine and she killed Thatcher.

"Fuck that was good play" Hibana said as she took off the VR gear.

"That it was, I should have finished Meghan off when I had the chance damn" Harding smiled

Everyone was getting out of their gear.

"This little fucker and his grenades" Adriano gave Mitchell a hard pat on the back with his usual smile

"Well you should have moved dumbass" Mitchell fired back with a smile "I wasn't expecting Marius to be in CCTV." Mitchell chuckled

"That was a good job Meg you scared the shit out of me and I didn't expect you to have your Deagle there" Harding smiled

Meghan smiled "well you should finish people off when you have the chance"

Everyone went back to the observation area. Thatcher still didn't trust Harding or Mitchell he was rather sore about losing. Even though it was his own fault for not checking behind the divider.

"I vasn't ready to have my neck by you Fletcher" Dominic looked to Harding

"Well that's why listen very carefully because you would have heard me come up behind you" Harding smiled at the German.

"Excellent work orange team" Six gave praise to the defending team

The simulations went well into the night with all kinds of different team comps. Six worked the operators into the ground. They went through 5 hours of simulations.

 **1800 hours Hereford**

The simulations finally came to an end everyone was tired others more so than others. Mitchell was went to his dorm to try and figure out where the White Masks were going to hit next. Harding decided to join him. They didn't have the same lighthearted tone as they did at the simulation room as they knew they would have to talk about killing their old comrade.

"You know when I was in Redmond yesterday Jester spoke to us and he said that he joined the masks to give people freedom from governments and agencies." Mitchell looked to Harding who was looking out the window in the room.

"Yeah well I want that too but the masks are going take over the world the first chance they get and slaughter millions just because they can. I don't know why he can't see that they are probably going to kill him the instant they are done with them" Harding spoke in a sombrous tone looking at the planes being unloaded.

"I still don't understand why they didn't come to us I mean seriously we probably kept them on our side" Mitchell looked at a report

Harding's head sunk "It's my fault I should have been ready for an ambush"

"It's not your fault brother it never was. No one saw that coming. Don't guilt trip yourself." Mitchell said in a reassuring tone

"I only cared about myself and you I should've went back and looked for them. But I didn't I only cared about our safety." Harding ran his fingers through his hair and looked down at the floor

"Brother stop blaming yourself it hasn't and never will be your fault. We should have been warned about it" Mitchell was trying to get Harding off of the guilt trip

"Hey Mitch would you ever betray me?" Harding looked at him as his dream floated back into his mind

"No why would ask me that?" Mitchell looked at Harding in question

"I had a nightmare again" Harding replied in a small amount of embarrassment

"Tell me about it" Mitchell replied

"Washington D.C was in flames and so was the white house I went into the White House and everyone on this team was dead or had just been killed and I mean everyone and someone went through and executed the team I watched Meghan die and I got to Tina too late to save her. And I chased the guy that killed them both I got in the hallway and there they were John, Keegan, and Donny and I was going to kill them and as I ran at them you shot me from behind. I asked you why and you said because I only cared about myself." Harding looked to the floor

"Look dude I could never kill you let alone betray you after everything we have through I defiantly couldn't do that. I have seen save terrorist from death or ease their pain as they slipped into the afterlife. Not mention you have thrown yourself into the middle of a firefight just to get one guy with no regard for your own safety. You don't just care about yourself ever since that night you selfless decisions I have yet to see you take a selfish one. Brother you care more about the general public and the men and women fight next you than you do yourself. You don't care about yourself you always put others before you. Not matter what you tell yourself you are selfless." Mitchell spoke in a reassuring tone

Harding just stayed quiet and continued to look at the floor.

"You know I also found baby blue paint and white Kevlar helmets." Mitchell said looking at the computer

"That's a hint the only organization I know that uses that tint of blue is the UN but White are organized but not that organized so what are they planning?" Harding asked

"I didn't even think about the UN" Mitchell said

"Well if they do hit the UN which embassy or building are they going to hit?" Harding asked

"That's the million dollar question" Mitchell said as he kept looking at the screen in front of him

There was a knock at his door

"Who is it?"

"Tina"

"Come on in" Mitchell called

Tina came in the room. Harding nodded at Mitchell and he left.

"What do you need Tina?"

She didn't say a word and she walked right up to him and she gave him the kiss of his life. It surprised him but he happily returned. It was deep, passionate, fiery yet calm. The kiss lasted for a few minutes before she broke away she was blushing like crazy.

"You don't know at how long I have been waiting to do that" She spoke softly

"At least since this morning I do know that" Mitchell smiled

Tina couldn't help but chuckle "would you like to go on a date sometime?" she looked at him with her brown eyes

"If you are going to give kisses like that then yes for sure" Mitchell smiled

Tina gave him another kiss only lighter and not as deep. But she stayed close to him for the rest of the night.


	11. Chapter 11: A Promise

**A/N: Hey everybody, I managed to squeeze this chapter out I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I can't wait to start the next one. I hope everyone is enjoying Grim Sky cause I am. I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. Let me know if I missed any errors and don't be afraid to leave a review. Enjoy!**

 _ **Chapter 11: A Promise**_

 **June 24, 2018**

 **0900 hours Hereford**

Six was in her office reading and rereading the files of Maverick and Clash as the day got closer to their recruitment. Maverick's paper work was extensive as it was filled with NDA's and other things of sorts she thought Harding's and Mitchell's paperwork was ridiculous but this was a stupid amount she didn't like that it was so extensive. Her phone rang she immediately picked up.

"Hello?"

"Madam Six this is the director of operations here at Langley and I have something that your team needs to respond to."

"What's the situation?" she asked still kind of reading Maverick's file

"I have an undercover agent that has been inside of the white mask organization for a few months and he claims his cover could be blown and he needs a team to pull him out can you assist?"

"Yes send me specs my team will take of the situation" Six replied as she looked to her computer and she had received a secure email

She started looking through the files she had received it was club that was ran by the organization in Spain. She was reading the specs for the building and she gathered the blueprints for the building as well. She saw the picture of what the spook would be wearing it was a standard White Mask uniform aside from the blue striping on the arms of his trench coat.

"Six I need you to ensure that specialist Fletcher and specialist Packston are assigned to this operation"

"May I ask why?" Six was very curious as to why Harding and Mitchell had to be assigned to the op

"Our agent says that he has worked with them before and he trusts that they will get him out" The man spoke

"I can assure that I will assign them to the team. What is your agent's name?" Six asked

There was a click and a disconnected beeping she sighed and hung up her phone.

While Six was going through the files everyone was enjoying a Pancake and bacon breakfast. It was rare that the cooks would make something like that so every operator was down there. Elena and Emma were beat as they had pulled an all nighter on the shield. Eliza and Jordan had been studying the 'Suri' torch that Maverick uses trying to perfect it. Mitchell and Tina sat with each other they weren't exactly dating yet but hey were feeling close and enjoying each other's presence. Harding sat with Mitchell and Tina he had file in his hands he got his hands on Maverick's file. Don't ask how he got it. He sat down reading it as he ate. Meghan was sitting with her usual crew Craig joined them this morning although he seemed particularly interested in Monika. Dominic would normally be screwing around with people but seeing as this breakfast was rare he decided against it and he was with the rest of the GSG 9 crew.

"What are you reading there brother?" Mitchell asked

"The file of a novyy paren'" (new guy in Russian) Harding said

"Of a what?" Tina asked she was confused

"Nothing" Harding said calmly

"How did you get it?" Mitchell asked

"Best you don't ask" Harding smirked

Mitchell dropped the conversation as he knew where that was going. Harding noticed there was a twinkle in Mitchell's eye. He just had to start picking on him. He set the file down and smiled.

"So when are you going to take her out?" Harding said with a smug smile looking at Mitchell

"How did you…you know what never mind" Mitchell looked away

"Dude I have only seen that twinkle in your eye two or three times before." Harding's smile grew

"I'm taking her out soon" Mitchell looked at Harding

They stared at each other for the next few minutes waiting to see what the other would do. Harding was smiling and Mitchell had a don't fucking do it face. Tina wasn't sure what was going to happen next but she had a feeling that it was going to be funny. Harding moved like lightning and he put Mitchell in a head lock (one that would allow someone to give a noogie)

"Come the fuck on let me go" Mitchell had annoyance in his voice and he knew he couldn't get free as Harding was stronger than him

"You know this reminds me when me and you hit the bar in Kansas and you got so hammered that you barfed in someone's purse because you couldn't make it out the door. *he looked to Tina* then that lady smacked him into the next year. She hit him so hard that his face was bruised for the next week" Harding started to laugh

Mitchell just turned red as that wasn't his best hour. Tina covered her face as she didn't want Mitchell to see her laugh. Harding just laughed. Mitchell was pushing on Harding's arm trying to get free. Mitchell had enough and he wrapped his arms around Harding's waist and he pulled him to the floor. Even though the fight looked real they were actually screwing around. Harding let go of Mitchell and they both scrambled to their feet both smiling. Everyone turned their attention to Harding and Mitchell. Mitchell had his fists raised Harding had his hands open instead of a fist. Mitchell was the first to move he threw a punch. Harding caught his fist and smiled. Harding used his left hand to throw a few strikes on Mitchell's ribs. Mitchell got free and he dropped down kicked Harding's legs out from under him. Harding fell to the floor and Mitchell got over top of Harding. At this point there was a large circle around Harding and Mitchell everyone was making sure that Mike, Vicente, or Six wasn't coming.

"Come on Mitch get 'em" Craig said with excitement in his voice

"Get him Mitch" James smiled

Mitchell threw a punch at Harding. Harding smiled as he deflected the punch and put Mitchell into an Arm bar.

"You should tap now little brother" Harding had a smile

Mitchell tried to break the arm bar but he couldn't so he tapped.

"Ah fuck, I tap, I tap" Mitchell said with light amounts of pain penetrating his voice

Harding let go of Mitchell and got off the floor they turned and gave a brotherly hug.

"You still need to work on striking speed" Harding said as he sat down at the table

"Yeah and you still need to work on your predictions I thought you would have seen the sweeper kick coming" Mitchell said taking his seat with a smile

Everyone was still looking at them in curiosity wondering why they didn't beat the shit out of each other.

"It wasn't a real fight guys go back to your breakfast" Mitchell said with a huff of amusement

"Really?" James asked

"Yes James it was fake if it were real we both would have been bleeding with broken bones" Mitchell smiled

The group dispersed and the mess hall returned to normal and there was idle talk after a few minutes. Tina wasn't sure how to respond to what she just saw.

"Does this happen often?" she asked looking to both Harding and Mitchell

"We haven't done that in a long time but we used to do that just about every day back when we were with the 75th" Mitchell gave a warming smile

Tina melted at his smile and she returned the smile. Sebastian had just got into the mess hall he didn't see the fake fight. He grabbed a tray and sat at the table with Mitchell and them.

"Morning" Sebastian said with a glowing smile

"Morning Seb" Harding replied

"Morning" Mitchell returned the smile

"Morning" Tina smiled

"So have you two been on a date yet?" Sebastian asked

Mitchell face palmed and Tina blushed. Harding couldn't help but laugh.

"No they haven't yet Seb" Harding said between laughs

"How did you know I asked?" Tina looked to him in shock

"Well you just told me, but I saw the way you looked at him and I knew that were going to eventually." Sebastian kept his smile

Tina blushed furiously, she covered her face and looked to the table. Mitchell just looked at a Tina with a smile as he thought she was cute when she was flustered. Haring just kept laughing it wasn't as hard as it was. Harding's laugh was truly one of a kind it was a deep laugh that came from the gut it fluctuated between low and high witch made it funnier yet it was natural. Meghan loved his laugh she had only heard it a few times. She looked over to the table he was sitting at she just smiled. Lera and Monika both shook their heads at her.

"Vhy don't you just talk to him?" Monika asked

"I don't know" Meghan replied

"You can't be afraid of rejection Meghan" Lera chimed in

"Not to mention he would probably say yes" Craig decided to jump in the conversation

"Why would you say that pirate?" Ela asked with her cold stare

"Well believe it or not he is nice guy once you get through his barriers. I have my doubts that he has a woman recently" Craig spoke from experience.

Meghan sighed and went back to eating her breakfast.

 **1100 hours Hereford**

Harding, Mitchell, Mike, Gilles, Jack, and Meghan were all called to the briefing room. They all sat in the briefing room patiently waiting for Six. It had already been 10 minutes.

"If she's not here in the next few minutes I'm going to go back to my workout" Harding spoke with slight annoyance

"Have patience and relax" Mitchell said and looked at him

"It's not like her to keep us waiting" Mike spoke

They were restless and tired of waiting as they had better things to do. Six finally walked in the door threw a pile of papers down on the podium.

"There is an undercover C.I.A agent that has been embedded in the White mask organization. He is calling for extraction. He claims that his cover has been blown and that he needs a team to go in and sweep the building. During the day the club is closed and there is a small force of masks keeping the building secure. The building is a club in Spain *picture of the building appears on the screen* There are long and open corridors so be careful not to get in the open. Your objectives are to pull the agent out kill all white masks and steal every bit of information you can."

Harding rolled his eyes and crossed his arms across his chest.

" _What do you know another spook screaming for help what are the chances he actually got anything?" Harding thought to himself_

Six saw this "What is your issue mister Fletcher?"

"My issue is that we have to save some lowlife spook who most likely didn't get jack shit for information. If they did get any information what makes you think that they will share it with us? The agency is fully capable of getting their own agent out so I don't understand why we have to do this." Harding voice was filled with annoyance

" _Damn it Fletcher all you had to do was sit through the briefing" Mitchell said to himself_

"Well Fletcher they will share their information. They want us to take of this because we don't need permission from other governments to go across their boarders." Six replied

Harding shook his head with a smile. "There is something missing from this story who ever told you about this has left out a major part. You cannot trust the agency."

"This came from the director of operations-"

Harding cut her off "Let me tell you somethin', that means absolutely nothing that came from their director of operations. They didn't tell you the name of the agent did they?" Harding looked her

She sat there in silence. Everyone except Mitchell was surprised to see Six speechless.

"That's what I thought. You can never trust the agency they always hold a major piece of the puzzle. There is another reason the agency is there. It's most definitely not for the White Masks." Harding spoke in a tone of annoyance and experience "I'll see everyone on the plane"

Harding stood up and walked out of the room. Mitchell stood up as did the rest of the ops.

"Ma'am I'm sorry about that just me and him haven't had the best track record with the agency" Mitchell spoke in an apologetic tone

"Will he do the job without killing the agent?" She asked

"So long as it isn't someone who betrayed us beforehand" Mitchell's tone shifted to seriousness

She looked to the other operators

"Keep him in line, you are all dismissed" Six knew Harding was partially right

They walked to the armory together. They started grabbing their gear Harding's locker was already missing his MDR and his Kimber.

"Can we rely on him?" Gilles asked looking to Mitchell

"Yeah you can depend on him to do his job" Mitchell looked to Gilles

"I don't know if it's the best idea that he comes with us. No offense" Jack said

"Well I'm going to need help keeping him in line if shit gets sideways" Mitchell looked at the team.

"Why does he hate the agency so much?" Meghan asked as she checked her MPX

"Well we both have been burned by them more than once and it nearly claimed our lives" Mitchell checked his ACR over

"You both should really trust the intelligence community they are the ones feeding us the information on the White masks." Mike looked to Mitchell with his AR-33 in hand.

" _Your one to talk about trusting someone else" Mitchell managed to keep his statement internal_

The team walked out to the plane Harding was already sitting in there with his MDR in his lap and his pack was on the floor between his legs. Meghan obviously sat next to him the team took their seats in the plane and it took off heading to Spain.

 **1300 hours Hereford**

As team was in flight to Spain, Tina was snooping around Mitchell's dorm just seeing what liked and disliked. Mitchell wouldn't have minded either way just as long as she didn't steal anything. She looked at his desk to see there were pictures of his adoptive parents with him in-between them they all had smiles on their faces. His mom had a darker skin complexion she looked like there was Native American in her and she was in her mid-thirties with long flowing black hair her eyes were a deep brown. His dad had dirty blonde hair that was thinning and looked like he was close to his forties his eyes were a hazel color. His skin tone was a tanned Caucasian. There was another picture it was of him and Harding she could tell it was in a bar there were three guys with them. One looked to be in his early twenties. Another one in the picture looked massive he was really tall and muscular. The last one was not as young and he looked like the happiest man the world. Everyone had huge smiles on their faces and they had their beers hoisted in the air.

" _They are young in this picture man do they look happy" She thought to herself_

She looked around the room and she saw a book with a leather brown binding and covers there was no title on it. She opened it to realize it was his Journal the oldest entry was made in 2008. She flipped through its pages not really reading anything she came across different diagrams that sketched by him they had range markings on different locations. The sketches were quite good they had dates ranging from 2012 through 2017. She kept leafing through the pages just skimming through the entries. One caught her eye. She stopped and started to read it.

 _June 9, 2010_

"… _Well Harding survived thank god after being on the table for 12 hours. I will never forget the paleness in his face he was really close to being dead. Man did we get lucky with the hospital. However I am upset I can't say the same thing about our other team members they perished. Whoever that was that tried to take to take us out was more than ready for us. I hope that we can avenge our brothers in arms. I'm sure going to miss them it's still hard to believe that they are gone…"_

Her eye brows furrowed as the entry never states how or why Harding was on a table. She flipped through a few more pages. Another entry caught her eye.

 _February 27, 2011_

"… _Travis passed away last night, Harding keeps blaming himself for it when it wasn't his fault. Something is different about Harding. Just his aura or some shit has changed he has become more ruthless and quiet than what I am used to. He still thinks what happened to Reaper team was his fault and now this. I can't imagine how he feels. But one thing have noticed is that he doesn't seem like a man anymore he seems more like a shell of who he used to be. He acts and moves more like a ghost. It scares me to be honest. He made a promise that he will do whatever it takes to get us home. The look in his eye is terrifying it is cold, lonely, and filled with rage. It's only me, Harding, Jack, and Forest now. Harding is now our leader as he was the second in command. The rest of the Hell Jumpers died in the ambush. 16 have died it's only us four left and we are stuck behind enemy lines we are low on food, Medical equipment, and ammo. I never thought I would be using an AK-47. Damn these things are old I really wish I had my M249 or my M4 with me they are so much better made than this thing. The silver lining in this is that we have accomplished our mission and Gadhafi has been debunked from power and the rebels are going to start a whole new government system. Man I really want to go home. A beer sounds nice right now a long with a steak or a burger with fries and slaw. Man that sounds delicious. I really need to get laid it has been way to long. I can't wait to get back state side. I really hope that they hold a service for the Hell Jumpers when we get back they were great guys and gals I hope they can find their peace…"_

Tina was very confused she had never heard of the Hell Jumpers before and she wondered why they were stuck behind enemy lines. She came across his most recent entry which was the day she finally confessed her love for him. She smiled as she read it. She set down the journal right as she found it. She looked through his room she opened his closet to see his dress uniform hanging there it was filled with medals and ribbons. She noticed the bronze and silver star hanging on it. There was a picture of him and Harding sitting next to each other in their dress uniforms both had sombrous looks on their faces. There was a third man there. It was the same hulking giant from the picture of them at the bar. There was something wrong she looked closely at the pant leg of the third man he had a prosthetic leg. He too had a sad look on his face.

" _Where are the other 2?" she asked herself_

Jordan was walking by the dorms and he noticed Tina in there. He took a step in and looked at her and smiled.

"You also like to snoop on your crush?" Jordan smiled

Tina slightly jumped. She started blushing and she faced him.

"You used to be a marine right?" she asked

Jordan leaned on the door frame "Yeah why?"

"Did you ever hear of the Hell Jumpers?" She looked at him quizzically

Jordan thought for a minute. "No I have never heard of that before"

Mark was close by and he poked his head in the doorway.

"The Hell Jumpers were a part of the Halo games as the ODST's they would drop behind enemy lines and destroy the enemy from there" Mark had nerded out a little as he was well versed in the Halo lore as it was one of his favorite games to play and learn about.

"No not fantasy this was real it was in Mitchell's journal" she spoke shaking her head softly

Jordan got an oh shit face. "It's best that you don't ask around about that because Mitchell might be wanting to keep that under wraps for now. Mark you never heard this conversation"

"I won't ask or tell anyone mate" Mark spoke with confidence

"Tina I think it's best that you don't ask Mitchell about it until he is ready to talk about it. Just that might still be very personal to him." Jordan looked at her with caring eyes "Just I would hate to see a relationship stop before it had a chance to begin, ok" Jordan put a hand on Tina's shoulder

"Ok, Jordan" She looked at him and flashed a smile

Jordan and Mark left the room. Tina was still rummaging through Mitchell's things. She came across a shoe box that had "Tour of America" written in black sharpie. She opened it and found pictures upon pictures. She started to go through them she found one where Harding and Mitchell were standing over what looked to be a lake really it was the ocean. It was cold as they had carhartt coats with sock hats, gloves and boots. There was snow on the ground. She flipped it over _"Allusion islands Alaska March 2003: Looking to Russia"_ She could tell that they were freezing their balls off and they had forced smiles on their faces trying to get out of the cold. She giggled softly. She looked to the next one they were on a beach both were shirtless and in trunks looking at the ocean. She couldn't help but blush as Mitchell wasn't as shredded as he is now but still pretty close. Harding was very well cut thanks to his MMA training and workout routine.

" _Wow Harding looks great in this picture" She thought to herself_

She flipped it over _"Honolulu, Hawaii Queens beach March 2003 The pacific Ocean"_ They were in the same pose as the picture before it. Harding had his left arm around Mitchell's shoulders with his right arm in the air giving a thumbs up. Mitchell had his right arm around Harding with his left arm in the air in a fist. She just smiled and went through every picture and there had to a few thousand pictures in that box.

 **1400 hours Ibiza, Spain**

The team landed in Spain Thatcher was naturally placed as squad leader he was giving his own briefing of the situation on the way their and explaining the roles of each member. They were on a Zodiac with Meghan driving

"Ghost you are our eyes find our HVT and guide us to him. Valkyrie as soon as ghost finds the HVT get your camera in the room and keep an eye on him. Monty and Pulse I want you two together as soon as we clear an area I need you to get the enemy through the floor with your scanner. Inferno you are with me. You and I are going to roll as a sweeper team going room to room clearing them out etc. Ghost after she has a camera in the room you are to regroup with us and help with the sweep understood?" Mike looked to the team

Everyone nodded as they stepped off the boat. Harding darted for the ruins and he immediately set up shop he started scanning the windows slowly and methodically. Monty and Pulse were waiting outside the sunrise bar. Valkyrie just waited by the perimeter of the building. Thatcher and Mitchell set up at the main door waiting for breach.

"Found him, He's in pool table shootin' pool five guys are with him." Harding spoke

Valkyrie threw her cam into the room as the window was open.

"I can confirm HVT is in the pool table room begin assault" Valkyrie spoke

The Agent inside heard the camera land activate he smiled beneath his mask as knew what was going to happen next. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Harding at the ruins watching him.

"Breaching!" Thatcher yelled as his breaching charge destroyed the main door

Mitchell was the first in. There was a mask behind the main desk he reached for his rifle but Mitchell bursted him down quickly. Thatcher took out one walking out of the bathroom. They surprisingly agreed to go through the bathroom and kitchen. Pulse and Monty got into the sunrise bar which was empty Pulse went straight to work he started scanning the ceiling.

"Two are in DJ" Pulse said keeping his eye on his heart monitor

He scanned the blue bar wall quickly.

"Six are in blue bar" He shouted "Monty keep me covered"

"I have you covered" Monty replied extending his shield

Pulse threw a nitro cell onto the ceiling taking out the masks in DJ.

"Valkyrie, me and you are going to clear out blue bar together and sweep the security room" Harding said hopping down

"I'm waiting on you ghost" She said as she stacked on the door

Harding came on the other side he readied his flashbangs. She nodded. Harding chucked his flashbangs into the room there three white masks blinded by the light. Valkyrie went in and got all three of them. Thatcher and Mitchell were pinned down by Kitchen. Mitchell was blind firing into the room hoping to get one of them.

"Mitchell fire incendiary" Thatcher looked at him

Mitchell prepped his grenade and fired it into the room. There was a large bang and a rush of extremely hot air. Thatcher could feel it through his mask. The glass that covered his eye became covered with condensation because of the sudden heat change. The masks that were in the kitchen were now being bathed in fire. They slowly died.

"Damn son I'm pretty sure you scorched my beard" Thatcher spoke with a light chuckle

Mitchell smiled but it was hidden by his balaclava. "We need to push upstairs from the lobby" Mitchell said

Thatcher nodded as they pushed up the stairs from the lobby. Pulse and Monty were working their way through Hookah. Monty was trapped in a corner and Pulse was outside of the room.

"Pulse give me a hand I have three guys in front of me shooting at me" Monty said with light panic

"Give me five seconds" Pulse shouted

Pulse went to one of the soft walls and he pulled out his heart sensor and memorized the positions of the enemy and unloaded his UMP into them. Monty retracted his shield as they were going to start their assault on the pool table room.

"Hookah clear we are heading to the pool table room" Monty spoke

Meghan had cleared security by herself. Harding was having a problem getting into blue bar so she came back to help.

"Security is clear. I'm going back to help Ghost." She returned to Harding "Flash them and we can mop them up"

Harding nodded he prepped two flashbangs and he haphazardly tossed them into the blue bar. They exploded he walked in a chalked up four of them that were at the back of the room. Two escaped into sunrise.

"Shit" she spoke in a slightly agitated tone

"No worries I'll get 'em" Harding walked calmly to the doorway of blue bar and he cloaked himself he walked into the bar quietly neither mask knew he was there.

"Jackson be ready" one mask called from behind the bar

"How the fuck did they get here without us noticing?" The other mask asked

"I don't know man just be ready for the push" they both readied their rifles at the door

Harding let out a chuckle as he was behind them. They turned around to see nothing. "WHAT THE FU-" The masks sentence was cut short as Harding's tomahawk met his throat. The other mask turned to fire. Harding threw the dead body of the mask on the live one. Harding pulled his handgun and shot the other mask in the head.

"Blue is clear Monty we will join you and Jack momentarily" Harding spoke as he took his tomahawk from the mask's throat. He used the trench coat to wipe the blood off the tomahawk.

Mitchell and Thatcher had pushed to the room behind the pool table room they didn't clear theater as they were more concerned about the agent.

"Negative, you Valkyrie need to clear theater and the hall of fame" Thatcher said prepping another breaching charge on the door to pool table.

"Roger" Harding said calmly as he and Valkyrie made their way to the theater.

"On my signal we breach the doors and we grab the HVT." Thatcher spoke with authority

Monty and Pulse were ready for a breach

"Three…Two…One…Mark" Thatcher blew the breaching charge sending splinters of wood everywhere

Monty and Pulse quickly got in the room only to see the agent still shooting pool as if nothing had happened.

"Star" Thatcher spoke

"Texas" The agent replied calmly

"We are here to get you out of here sir" Thatcher spoke with authority

"I know just let me finish my game" The agent continued to shoot pool

Mitchell knew his voice from somewhere he couldn't quite place it.

" _I know that voice but from where?" Mitchell thought to himself_

"Can you take off that ridiculous mask at least?" Pulse asked

"Yes I can" The agent took off his mask and he pushed his hood down

Monty and Pulse moved next to Thatcher and Mitchell to get a better look at the spook.

"Fuck me where is Harding?" Mitchell asked with urgency

"He was in Theater why?" Monty spoke

The agent turned around and got out in the hall way he was going to see if Harding was there. Harding and Valkyrie had finished up with the sweep they were walking to the pool table room. Harding saw the agent and his blood went from ice cold to a boiling white hot rage.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH" Harding yelled

"Oh no" Mitchell said he quickly got in the hall

Just as Mitchell got in the hall. Harding landed a superman punch on the agent breaking his nose.

"YOU CAN CHANGE YOU NAME BUT YOU CAN'T CHANGE YOUR FACE YOU SHIT" Harding spoke with pure rage as he took the agent to the ground his MMA skills took over. He was sending multiple punches to the agents face they were all hitting their mark.

"FLETCHER STOP" Thatcher yelled

Harding was putting on a clinic the agent couldn't even bring his hands to his face to block the blows. Monty threw his shield down and grabbed Harding's waist and picked him up. Harding was trying to get free.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU SON OF A BITCH I PROMISED THEM THAT I WOULD KILL YOU" Harding yelled at the top of his lungs still fighting to get out of Monty's grasp

Monty threw Harding on the floor head first with all his might. Harding was knocked out after the blow. Monty was breathing heavily. Everyone looked at Mitchell who was already tending to the agent who now had a broken nose, a busted eye socket, and few of his teeth were on the floor.

"What the hell was that?" Thatcher asked wanting answers

"Well mister Lynch here was the head spook for an elite team that has a lot of classified information. Harding and I were on that team and this fucker got 17 out of the 20 sent in killed. Harding still hasn't forgotten this bastard. He made a promise to the other living team member that he would kill Lynch to avenge them. That is what that was" Mitchell said with an eerie coolness "It probably best that you cuff Harding or else he will wake up and actually succeed in killing this fucker."

Pulse quickly cuffed Harding as he was knocked out. Monty picked Fletcher up and threw him over his shoulder as Mitchell grabbed Le Roc. Valkyrie took the agent they got back on the boat and on to the plane. The plane ride was dead quiet. Lynch (the agent) was going to be fine other than the teeth and nose. Meghan had never seen someone go from calm, cool, and collected to a sporadic, pissed off wack job that fast. Harding's words echoed in her head.

 **1600 hours Hereford**

The team got back to base Harding had woke up on the plane ride back his head was hurting like a motherfucker. Six had about what happened as did the rest of the base. Everyone was surprised to hear that someone did that. Mike was already in Six's office and he was pissed.

"I want Fletcher off the team, Now" Mike was still in his combat wears except for his gas mask

Six sighed "Mike I know you do but look he is a good operator and he has a unique skill set this team needs. He shouldn't have reacted that way. But remember what you did to Oliver I nearly kicked you and him off the team because of that."

"That was a different scenario. Fletcher would have killed the HVT had we not been there. That is not good what would we have done if he did kill the HVT? Hmm?" Mike asked with a contained rage in his voice

"I understand Mike, but like I said Fletcher has a unique skill set and if I kick him off the team Packston is likely to follow and we need his hard breaching capabilities right because Jordan is still out on a medical condition. If Packston leaves we are left with Yumiko and that's a lot of work for one operator and you know that. Not to mention everyone on this team likes Mitchell hell he even got Chul to talk to him. So imagine the damage that would be caused if he left. Then the entire team would most likely resent you for him leaving and I can't have that with one of my leaders." Six spoke in a menacing tone

Six's tone took the fight right out of Mike. Mike sat there and thought about what six said about Mitchell leaving. She was right. "Then what do we do?" Mike asked a little more calmly

"Well we have him plea his case with evidence if he has any, then we will lock up Lynch or we keep Fletcher confided to the base and he can only leave for missions that we need him on and if he acts up like this again he is off the team. Sound good?" Six looked Mike right in the eyes

"Sounds good to me" Mike gave a nod and walked out the door.

Harding was in his room he had locked to the door and he sat in the corner of his room with the lights out the dorm was almost completely black.

" _Nice going dumb ass now you could've ruined Mitchell's career on top of yours. Just because you couldn't control your anger. Now you may go to prison for it and you know what Meghan probably doesn't even want to know who are anymore. Nice going fucktard" Harding's negative side rang through his head "You deserve this you couldn't protect Reaper Team or the Hell Jumpers. This is the third team you have been a part of and still yet you manage to fuck everything up. You deserve prison or better yet you deserve to die" His voice rang out again._

Harding could feel a tear run down his face as he knew was going to prison and possibly destroying Mitchell's career. He let his team down all because he couldn't control his anger. Harding was just beating the snot out of himself. He truly wanted to die now.


	12. Chapter 12: The Hell Jumpers

**A/N: Hey guys this chapter came out a little later than I wanted it to but oh well. This chapter is longer than the usual ones but I wanted to have it all done in one chapter. I really enjoyed writing this chapter I got lumps in my throat writing this chapter I hope you all get the same. Don't be afraid to leave a review and please let me know if I missed any errors. Enjoy.**

 _ **Chapter 12: The Hell Jumpers**_

 **June 24, 2018**

 **1700 hours Hereford**

Harding was still in his room beating himself up over what happened on the mission. Lynch had Gustave taking care of his mangled face. Gustave had a hard time not cracking up in laughter as Harding knocked out Lynch's two front teeth. Mitchell had gotten a shower and he too was upset with the mission however he was more concerned with Harding's mental health. He knew that he would be beating himself up over it. He also knew that Harding wouldn't want to talk to anyone. So Mitchell went to his own dorm He was wearing black everlast sweatpants with an old Reds t shirt. He shut the door and picked up the first thing that was within arm's reach which was a baseball signed by Joey Votto (used to be the first basemen for the Reds) and threw it as hard as he could against the wall. There was a dent left in the drywall.

"FUCK" He shouted

He sat on the bed and he ran his hands down his face and let out a sigh. He pulled out his phone and he made a call. It rang twice before a deep burly voice answered.

"Hello?" The man answered

"Hey, Jack its Mitchell"

"Mitchell it's been a long time little man" There was excitement in Jack's voice

"Yeah it has, I wish I was making this call on better terms" Mitchell returned with a less happy tone

"What is it?" Jack asked with curiosity in his voice

"Lynch"

"Is he dead?" Jack asked with hope

"No, Harding would have killed him had our team not been there, which leads me leads to my next problem. So we got hired on to a new high class team and well they saw Harding go nuts on Lynch and I think they might kick him off the team. So I'm going to need every case report that you got on the incident." Mitchell looked at the floor

"They should have let Harding finish him. But, no worries I can get the reports and case files to you soon" Jack let out a yawn as it was close to mid night.

"I need them tomorrow, Jack"

"Hang on let me put my leg on" Jack set the phone down Mitchell could hear him putting his prosthetic leg on

"It's odd to hear you say that" Mitchell let out a soft chuckle

"Hey don't be making fun of a cripple, you asswipe" Jack returned lightheartedly he walked to his back office and started to flip through some pages that were comprised of shipping manifests. "I can get the files by tomorrow by lunch time."

"I owe you man" Mitchell replied

"Hey, you don't owe me jack shit you and Harding pulled me out of the desert and I still owe you both still. Do you have the address or coordinates of the base you're stationed at?" Jack asked with a pen and paper in hand.

"Yeah send it to Hereford base in the U.K"

"Team Rainbow huh? You guys sure made a name for yourself" Jack smiled

"How did you know?"

"You know me friends in all the right places" Jack chuckled With Mitchell following suit they fell silent for a minute before Mitchell broke changed subjects.

"How is your girlfriend?" Mitchell softly smiled

"We are actually engaged now I don't have a date yet but I will send you an invitation." Jack had a huge smile on his face

"Alright! That is good to hear. But I gotta ask you something." Mitchell had smile on his face

"What is it?" Jack asked

"Did you only marry her because you couldn't hobble away on your good leg or did she snag your prosthetic and beat the shit out of you with it?" Mitchell chuckled

Jack smiled and let out a playful sigh "No it was natural and we both enjoy our relationship you fucking dick" Jack tried not to chuckle

Mitchell laughed

"You finally get a girl?" Jack asked

"Kind of sort of she wants to go on a date but it's hard to find time with our work schedules the funny thing is, is that she asked me to go on a date with her." Mitchell smiled big

"Good for you, make sure you do it soon man. Hell if you need me to I will get out there and distract your C.O so you can go on a date with her." Jack chuckled

"I don't think that will be necessary but thank you" Mitchell had a small smile on his face "I'll let you get some shut eye it was good to talk to you"

"Yep I'll talk to you later make sure Lynch doesn't get away"

"I'll make sure, Night Jack"

"Good night Mitchell" Jack hung up

Mitchell put his phone away and sighed his anger was lessened but still present. Tina walked in the door she had a concerned look on her face. She shut the door behind her and she sat next to Mitchell. She had her flannel pajama bottoms that were gray with black checks and thin red lines on with her usual black t shirt. She ran her hand up and down his back.

"Are you alright?" She asked in a soft tone

Mitchell sighed "I don't know, I'm really concerned that Fletcher will get kicked off the team and I don't want that to happen"

She started to scratch his back "I don't think that they will kick him off the team he has a lot of field craft and an impressive skill set. He is a mechanic, a medic, a sniper, and a CQC specialist. That's hard just to toss away Six will most likely keep him on the team."

Mitchell sat there and thought for a few minutes "I guess you're right, But still there is that chance"

"I know you will do whatever you have to, to keep him on the team. Not to mention I'm pretty sure Meghan would be pissed if he got kicked off the team." Tina smiled

Mitchell smiled softly "Yeah that wouldn't be good."

"Does Lynch being around still bother you?" She asked curiously

"Yeah it does very much so" He felt his eyes getting droopy

"Do you mind telling me why" She looked at him with caring eyes

"He got 17 of my good friends killed and not to mention they were phenomenal operators. Most of them could have made it to this team. Me, Harding, and one other person made it out alive we are the last survivors of that team. It was pretty bloody. He killed one kid that would have defiantly made it on the team he was only twenty and he was ridiculously smart like he was just as smart as Mark. His name was Forest he was still a baby he was only 20 years old." Mitchell looked at the floor

Tina felt bad and she didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry Mitchell I don't know what to say"

"It's ok" was all that Mitchell responded with

Tina kept scratching his back after a few minutes she heard him shift and she looked over and he fell asleep. She let a small giggle escape and she slowly laid him in his bed and covered him up. She gave him a kiss before she shut out the light and left the room.

Everyone was in the rec room. There was idle talk throughout the room. Grace was sitting by herself at a table she had her earbuds in. She was looking into Harding and Mitchell's past ventures. She mainly doing it on her own accord. She couldn't get access to their more secure files so she resorted to social media and YouTube. She managed to find a video of the two at bar she couldn't tell where it was from but she thought it was kind of funny as they were on the stage inside the bar they were singing and it was rather good some slurs here and there thanks to the alcohol. It wasn't karaoke either. In the bottom right of the screen there was a date and time and it was from 2003. It was from their tour of America and they needed money so they made a deal with the owner of the bar. Grace didn't know that obliviously. They were singing "Man of constant sorrow" by the Soggy Bottom Boys. She was trying to keep her laughter suppressed as it was odd to see special ops soldiers singing at bar. It was even funnier because their southern accents weren't forced and very natural. Oliver and Gilles were playing blackjack at the card table. Alexander and Vincente were playing a game of chess. Jordan and Eliza were watching two and half men on the main tv (When Charlie Sheen was on it). Maxim was fiddling with some wire building a snare. Miles and Jack were chatting about the upcoming football season. Emma was taking a break from building the shield and she was talking to Mark about an assortment of topics. James was texting an old friend from home. Seamus and Elias were arm wrestling in the corner. Meghan was sitting down and looking out the window in the room. Harding's words echoed in her head she couldn't forget the look in his eyes or the tone of his voice.

" _I PROMISED THEM" Harding's voice echoed "Who did he promise? Why does he want to kill Lynch so badly?" She asked herself_

Mike walked in as he just got out of Six's office he stood in the center of the room.

"As you all know by now specialist Fletcher well went nuts and we are essentially having a hearing for his side of the story tomorrow the more of you that can be there the better. We will broadcast it across the local air waves of the base so you can workout etc. while listening to it. A side note he will not be kicked off the team for this however he will be restricted to the base he will not be able to leave. It all starts tomorrow at 1000 hours." Mike spoke loud enough for everyone to hear there were multiple responses.

"I still can't believe zhat Fletcher lost it like zhat" Dominic spoke from the corner of the room.

"No kidding, I have seen people go nuts before but never cause that much damage." James replied looking up from his phone

Mike just brushed off the comments and he looked around the room. He noticed Meghan was sitting at the window and he walked over and stood next to an empty chair

"Mind if I join you?" he asked

She looked up "Yeah"

Mike sat down across from her "What's on your mind?"

She let out a soft sigh "I have never seen someone do that before"

"Do what before?"

"Go from calm and cool to an explosive raging beast"

"I haven't either he must really hate him in order to go that far. Look we would never let him hurt anyone on this team" Mike gave his smile of assurance

"I know that and he wouldn't hurt anyone on this team I just want to know why he did that" Meghan looked to Mike

"We will find out tomorrow but don't let it bother you, ok?"

"Alright Mike" She smiled

 **June 25, 2018**

 **0930 hours Hereford**

Tina was going to wake up Mitchell as they were about to have the hearing for Harding. She had two cups of coffee. She knocked on his door with her elbow there was no response. She carefully put both cups of coffee in one hand and she opened the door quietly and she set the coffee down on his desk and she sat on his bed. He was laying on his side with the blanket up by his nose. She smiled as she thought was cute. She softly shook his shoulder. He groaned and shifted his head deeper into the pillow. She smiled big.

"Mitchell you need to get up" She said softly

He groaned again pulling the blanket over his head. She shook her head and she pulled the blanket down from his head and she gave him a kiss on his temple. His left eye opened and he looked at her and he smiled.

"Are you going to get up or are you going to lay there and look at me?" Tina said playfully

He rolled on to his back and smiled big with both eyes open "Well that depends on what you are planning if your stripping I'd definitely lay here and look at you"

She playfully hit his chest. "You pig"

Mitchell chuckled as he laid there looking into her eyes getting lost in them yet again. They were a deep brown and he couldn't help but get lost in them. She smiled at him and she pulled the coffee of the desk.

"I brought you some coffee" She hand him the mug and he gladly took it

"Why did you get me up?" Mitchell asked after he sat up

"In thirty minutes they are going to have a hearing for Harding and I figured you would want to be there" She looked at him taking a sip of her coffee

"Yeah I would like to be there, thank you for waking me" Mitchell smiled softly before taking a sip

"Are you worried?" She asked

"Yeah a little bit but not as bad, I don't know how Harding is going to react though" Mitchell looked at her

"I think he will be fine as long as you are close by" She gave a reassuring smile

Mitchell smiled "Well I'm going to get dressed and make my way down stairs"

"Ok" Tina smiled she was about to walk out the door and she looked at him "If you need someone to talk to I'm not far away"

"Thank you Tina" He smiled as she walked out

" _I'm head over heels for that girl" He thought to himself_

 **1000 hours Hereford Interrogation room 1b**

Harding sat in the room he didn't get much sleep as he was consumed with guilt and rage. Jack and Taina were in the room with Harding. Taina didn't have her traditional skull paint on. They were all dressed casually. They did have Harding cuffed to the table just as a precaution. Six, Lynch, Mitchell, Mike, and Meghan were all in the observation area. Lynch had a white medical eye cover over his left eye that had the busted socket. Thank Harding for that and the broken nose.

"Do you think he will have another outburst Mitchell?" Six asked

"He won't, So long as you don't send Lynch in there to talk to him" Mitchell looked to Six

"That's debatable" Lynch spoke

"Oh, shut it toothless" Mitchell spoke with anger

"I would be toothless if your friend there hadn't lost his mind" Lynch fired back

Mitchell got in Lynch's face they were inches apart "It wouldn't had happened had you not sold us out to the damn Taliban you mother fucking murder. You are lucky people are here because if they weren't you would already be in the dirt" Mitchell spoke with an intensity that hadn't shown since he was on the team.

Lynch chuckled "maybe should do as you say because I don't think you have balls to murder me in cold blood"

"I'll bet I do" Mitchell's patience was coming short

Mike broke them up before fists were thrown "Both of you need to relax"

"Mike if there is someone you shouldn't trust it's him" Mitchell spoke

Mike kept his mouth shut as he pulled Lynch to the other side of the room.

Jack was starting

"Well Fletcher you are here to give us context as to why you attacked Mr. Lynch. If there is any evidence that may help us understand could you please give it to us so we can view it." Jack spoke in a soft tone.

Harding looked to the black glass behind Jack "Mitchell go into my dorm and in the bottom of my dresser there is one of my dad's old cigar boxes there is a black thumb drive. Bring that and my laptop down for Six to look at." His voice was extremely tired

Mitchell nodded before he left the observation area and he ran to Harding's room and he found the drive and in Silver sharpie was written "Evidence" and he snagged the laptop before he returned he set it up. Six pressed the intercom button

"What do you want us to view first?" Six asked

"I want you to look at the drone feed first then systematically go through the body cam footage of Me, Mitchell, and Jack." Harding spoke "In the Mean time I will tell you my personal account of the event. *sigh* It all started in the December of 2010 Me and Mitchell had finished grieving over our first team and we did so more training where Mitchell learned E.O.D and Parachute rigging. D.O.D had sent us to a new team called the Hell Jumpers and we spent the month getting to know the team. We were chosen to be on the team do to the fact that we could do stealth all the way out to urban warfare. Anyway I was quickly put in the second in command position. This division pulled operators from all over the United States military. Everything from the Raiders all the way to the delta force and even the 24 Special tactics Squadron from the air force DEVGRU was also in there. There was a whole division of them we were in the 21st JSOC regiment the Hell Jumpers division team 539. The team was filled with good people they would've made great candidates for this team had they survived. The actual incident took place on February of 2011…"

 _ ***Flashback begins***_

 **February 21, 2011**

 **1200 hours outside of Benghazi**

The Libyan rebels freed the city from Col. Gaddafi's rule. 20 American soldiers are returning home from an undercover operation that ensured the rebels victory. They are the Hell Jumpers. An elite team of brave soldiers who are dropped behind enemy lines and dismantle organizations without ever being noticed and without taking credit. They are mostly comprised of Delta Force operators, SEALs, the 24th Special Tactics squadron, and a few Rangers from the 75th are also in the mix. There was a convoy of 4 Humvees return to their base following a dirt road. Many were celebrating their victory there were many smoking cigars. There was much Comradery in the convoy. Harding and Mitchell were in the rear seating of the second Humvee both were happy at how the operation turned out. Harding didn't know it but his Mom passed away while they were running the op and that he missed the funeral. Travis callsign Trav was driving he was from the 24th Special tactics squadron he was 36. He had dirty blonde hair with a strong jaw line and ice blue eyes. He had a wife and two kids one was born a week ago he will get to see his little girl for the first time. in the passenger seat was a 20 year old Ranger with name of Forest he had short black hair and a baby face. He was single but well respect amongst his home town as he gave most of his paychecks to the local charities. On the turret was Jack Revel callsign Hammer. He was a hulking mass of muscle he could easily pass for Craig's twin brother but they aren't related and he stood at a ridiculous 6'5". He had a few kids who seem to have forgotten his name and number and his Ex-wife that was upset the he always had to leave her and the kids on their own. Harding and Mitchell had got very close to the team they found their military family. It was warm the sun was shining brightly.

"I can't wait to get home and to see my little girl for the first time and I'm finally going to retire" Travis's voice was filled with excitement

"You better treat her well and don't be over bearing and always be there for her man and savor your time with her." Hammer spoke

"Believe me I will cherish her, I'm sorry that your kids spilt on you" Travis spoke his excitement died down some

"It's alright man, Hey Forest what are you gonna do when you get back?" Hammer asked changing the subject

"Enjoy my time off and do things I want to do, what about you two?" Forest asked looking to Harding and Mitchell

"Well I'm going home and having a real beer not this cheap shit. Then I'm going to hang out with Hawg" Harding said with a smiled little did he know he would be getting so plastered that he wouldn't be able to remember the week he was home.

"I'm going to see if I can I get a girlfriend or just get laid like it's been way to fucking long" Mitchell smiled

Everyone chuckled

"Mitchell let command know we are on our way back" Travis smiled

"You got it" Mitchell replied "Viking 6-1 this is Viper 4-3 we are returning home operation was successful."

"Good to hear Viper we got steaks on the grill for you. Door is wide open" Viking replied

At the bases command tent there were a few monitors that had the drone feed on it as it was watching the convoy the leader of the operation was a C.I.A agent by the name of Thomas Lynch. He was your typical agency spook dark glasses a traditional face other than the goatee he was in his early forties but he could easily pass for his late twenties he was watching the convoy. Mitchell's radio transmission came through just a moment ago. He smiled as everything was going according to plan.

"Sir there is a large element of Taliban moving in on the convoy" a tech spoke from his monitor

Thomas walked over to the monitor and looked at it.

"No those are my assets" Thomas had a calm voice

"Sir?" the tech had uncertainty in his voice

"Pack up we are leaving they will make it out" Thomas said over the tent

Not a single person question him and the shut everything down and packed up their gear. He had made this deal covertly as he told the agency about the effectiveness. Though the Hell Jumpers didn't know it they had uncovered that the C.I.A was selling arms and information to the terrorist organizations in turn they got information about a missing money mint and the engraving plates. The C.I.A was going to exploit this for their own profits so they could fund more sketchy operations for their personal gain.

The convoy was moving along at a steady pace still riding the high of completing their operation. Hammer rotated to the east he saw Taliban fighters appear out of nowhere.

"CONTACT WITH AN RPG" Just as he finished a rocket hit their Humvee

There was a massive explosion that flipped the Humvee. Hammer was able to get inside the Humvee before it flipped, it rolled hard. The rest of the convoy started to return fire. Travis and Forest were already out of the Humvee firing on the Taliban. Harding got his bearings and he kicked open the door of the Humvee. he, Mitchell, and Hammer crawled out.

"CONTACT TO THE EAST" Harding yelled

Another Humvee was hit by an RPG one of the soldiers was able to bail before it exploded. But she still was hit with fragments in her leg in her right thigh specifically. She had long brown hair and hazel eyes. She was in her early 30's she hailed from the Raiders. Her callsign was Hawg as it was her last name. Her whole name was Hellen Hawg.

Travis saw this he crouched down and threw a fresh mag into his M4. "HAWG IS HIT I'M GOING TO GET HER" Travis yelled

"I'M RIGHT BEHIND YOU" Harding yelled back

Travis nodded "FOREST GIVE US COVERING FIRE"

Forest nodded as he prepped his M4 and started to unleash a hail storm of lead. Harding and Travis leap frogged their way to the Humvee. Harding slid to the Humvee and he started to tend to her leg.

"IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME FLETCHER" She yelled as the gunfire only got louder she and Harding used to flirt all the time even if it was ill timed like now

"CHILL OUT CHICKA" Harding gave a genuine smile that she loved.

"GIVE ME A NO BULLSHIT ASSESMENT FLETCH" She yelled

"YOU'LL BE FINE JUST NO RUNNING. *presses the button on his radio* ALL CALLSIGNS GIVE ME COVERING FIRE" Harding yelled

As the rest of the jumpers gave covering fire Harding put Hawg in a fireman carry and he sprinted back to the flipped Humvee. Travis was right behind them as they ran Travis took a 7.62 to the lower left abdomen and he fell to the ground. Harding set Hawg behind the Humvee and he looked over.

"TRAV IS DOWN I'M GOING FOR EM COVER ME" Harding yelled

Harding grabbed the strap to his plate carrier and drug him behind the Humvee as well. Harding got him into position and he threw his pack off he looked at Travis and Hawg.

"LOOK AT ME YOU ARE GONNA GET HOME, FOREST GET OVER HERE, MITCHELL LET IT RIP" Harding yelled

Mitchell nodded he set his M249 up on the flipped Humvee. He had one of those ammo backpacks that held all the belt fed ammo you could ask for. He modified his M249 so it could fire just as fast of not faster than Mira's Vector.

"WHAT DO YOU NEED HELP WITH?" Forest shouted

"START TAKING THE FAGMENTS OUT OF HAWG'S LEG WHILE I PATCH UP TRAVIS" He pulled out tweezers gauze and rubbing alcohol and a prototype bio foam.

"FUCK MY WIFE IS GOING TO KILL ME" Travis spoke holding his wound

Harding looked behind him the bullet went through clean. He let out a sigh and he grabbed the foam.

"THIS MIGHT HURT" Harding held Travis's shoulder as he sprayed the foam into the wound

Travis let out a bloodcurdling scream. Hawg looked at him "FUCKING GROW A PAIR YOU PUSSY" Travis would have laughed had the situation not been so dangerous. Harding smiled.

Hammer was plinking away with his Mark11. Mitchell was still letting his LMG rip the barrel was glowing red and steam was coming off the barrel. Forest stood up to return fire. The soldiers were pinned behind their Humvees. Hammer got down behind their Humvee and grabbed the mic off of the radio

"VIKING 6-1 THIS IS VIPER 4-3 WE ARE UNDER FIRE AND WE NEED AIR SUPPORT NOW" Hammer didn't even get static in return just silence his heart dropped "BOSS THE CHANNEL IS DOWN I'M NOT EVEN GETTING STATIC" Hammer shouted

"IT CAN'T BE GIVE ME THE RADIO" Travis yelled

Harding had started to patch Hawg's leg. Hammer tossed the radio to Travis who immediately grabbed it. "VIKING 6-1 THIS IS KING VIPER PLEASE RESPOND" Still silence "VIKING 6-1?" More silence Travis threw the radio in a fit of rage. "FUCK YOU!"

Harding continued to patch Hawg's leg. Mitchell heard a very distinctive click that every solider hates to hear.

"I'M OUT OF AMMO THE BARREL ON THIS FUCKING THING IS RUINED" Mitchell shouted the LMG's barrel was warped and was pointing in an odd direction. He threw the LMG at the enemy even though it wouldn't hit anyone. He reached into the Humvee and pulled his M4A1 SOPMOD. One of the demolition experts from the SEALs Fired an MGL-32 into the Taliban forces. The Taliban quickly backed off after that as it inflicted multiple casualties on the Taliban. They were weakened but still in the fight. Mitchell fired one of his incendiaries into the heart of a technical. The technical exploded into millions of pieces the Taliban quickly backed off as they had taken heavy casualties. The air fell silent every Humvee was ruined and they weren't salvageable. The last ten Hell Jumpers gathered around the overturned Humvee. Their high had been cut to low everyone had dirt and soot on their faces. Harding had finished putting gauze on Hawg's leg.

"What the fuck was that?" Mike Seagan a ranger from the 75th asked

"An ambush" Jack responded

"No shit frogman but where was our air support and the drone that was giving us over watch?" Mike responded

"I don't know"

"I'll tell you what they sure as hell knew when and where we are going. It's awfully sketchy" Hawg spoke looking at her leg

"Yeah I'm with Hawg on this it was really well planned" Harding spoke sitting in the dirt next to Hawg

"What are you saying they left us?" Mike replied

Harding shrugged his shoulders "That's what I'm thinking, but it also could be a technical error"

"Look they wouldn't leave us behind there has to be a logical reason behind this" Travis said standing up wincing in pain "I want everyone to go around and look for wounded and supplies because we are going to need it we have a fifty mile trek back to base. Fletcher stay here with Hawg" there were multiple yes sirs and nods

"Do you think we will make it out of this one Fletch?" Hawg asked

Harding loved it when she called him that "I think so we are going to be ok" He smiled and put his hand on her shoulder

She loved his smile and even though she was a Marine she would worry and it was nice to hear someone give an optimistic view on the situation. "Good"

"Yeah go home and have Cash and Hank on the radio with a little bit Nelson." Harding gave another smile

"That sounds nice with a good beer and the open country side" She smiled back

Harding chuckled.

"For the love of god get a room you two" Mitchell smiled as he was checking over their Humvee

"Quit being jealous Mitch" Harding quickly fired back

After a few minutes of searching everyone returned all the ammo that was left was what was on their chest rigs and a few frags. They found the bodies of the other ten.

"We need to move before they come back we have fifty miles to go so get up and let's move. Jack and Mitchell take point. Forest you and Mike take up rear security. Harding you are with the wounded. We have no time to mourn right now we need to get back to base" Travis spoke in a commanding tone

Harding helped Hawg off the ground and he put his rifle on his back and he put Hawg's left arm around the back of his neck and they started waking. Mitchell had to help Travis as the wound on his abdomen was giving him problems walking. They only covered eight miles of the journey as night fall came and both Travis and Hawg needed a break. They came to a town and they posted up in an empty house for the night. It was near mid night Forest was on guard with Mike. Mitchell and Jack were a sleep on the couch sitting up the others were sprawled out on the floor or on the dining room table. Travis was laying on the floor as he refused the couch and the table.

"Travis how is that wound?" Harding asked kneeling next to him and opening his shirt to look at it.

"It feels weird and it hasn't opened up that foam shit you used really seemed to work." Travis said looking at the wound.

"Good it looks like it's holding up. You aren't feeling nauseous, tired, or cold are you?" Harding asked

"Tired but so is everyone else a little cold but the air seems to chilly tonight." Travis smiled

"You need to tough up man, quit whining about the cold" Harding smiled big

"You are such a dick no wonder you and Hawg get along" Travis smiled "Kid you should really get some sleep you have been up for quite a while now." Travis looked Harding in the eyes

"I'm a medic my work isn't done until everyone is home safe" Harding smiled

"You know for the black ops types you and your brother really seem to care about this unit" Travis smiled softly

"Well this is our second team and I don't want to lose any more friends." Harding smiled "I really want you to get home to see your family again."

"You are a good kid you know that?" Travis chuckled

"I'm not the kid you need to call Mitchell or Forest that" Harding smirked

Travis smiled but it slowly faded "do you think we were left behind?"

"I don't know it's hard to say I hope we weren't" Harding looked at him

Travis nodded "I don't understand why they weren't there I have been racking my brain over it for hours."

"I can't figure it out either which is why we need to get back to base asap" Harding gave a nod

"You should go keep Hawg company she looks worried. I think I will get some shut eye your shift is in a few hours."

"Alright sleep well." Harding got up and walked over to Hawg

She had a stoic look on her face. But her eyes said otherwise. Harding kneeled down by her leg and started taking the gauze off to look at it. "Quit trying to get in my pants you perv." She said in threatening tone. Harding knew she was joking

"What you don't like being taken advantage of while wounded" He smiled as he examined the wound

"No I don't" She gave a smirk

"Is it hurting? Do you feel a burning sensation? Does your leg feel numb or cold?" Harding asked

"Some but I'll manage, no, and no" She was watching Harding

"Ok well I need to put a disinfectant on it so this might hurt." He pulled out rubbing alcohol and a fresh set of bandages

"Ok Fletch" She nodded

He took his glove off and put a latex one on he dumped some of the alcohol on the area where the shrapnel was. She winced and pounded her fist on wall as it burnt like hell. He rubbed the alcohol in and she kept squirming.

"Just need to put the bandages on now"

He wrapped her leg in the bandage. She calmed down after that and Harding sat next to her.

"Here it will help you relax" Harding smiled holding and earbud to her

She smiled and put it in and the song "Toes" by the Zac Brown Band started playing. "I wish I was on the beach. Not here."

"Same and I would also like to on the beach 'cause I'll bet you look great in a bikini." Harding smiled

She threw a punch and it hit him in the shoulder pretty hard but she was smiling. Harding chuckled.

"Was it something I said?" Harding kept his smile

She was still worried that they wouldn't make it out of their situation. However she is really good at hiding it. "When we get back we should definitely grab a beer sometime" She smiled at him

"That would be nice all the bars where I live play country 24/7" Harding kept his smile

She smiled and she just listened to the music and fell asleep next to him and he followed suit not to long after she did. She put her head on his shoulder. Normally she was a loud mouth Marine but around him she was softer and not quite a hardass. Harding was bothered by the deaths of his other comrades earlier that day but not nearly as much as the deaths that were to come. This was the beginning of the ghost and the end of the outlaw (Harding's old callsign).

 _ ***Flashback end***_

 **June 25, 2018**

 **1200 Hours Hereford**

 **Interrogation room 1b**

Harding had a lump in his throat as that was only the beginning of his story. He wasn't ready to explain what happened next. Mitchell knew what Harding was going through however there was nothing he could do. Everyone in the observation area had just finished watching the drone feed With Mitchell giving some insight along with Harding's personal account of the incident.

"Ma'am Mister Lynch was in charge of this whole operation he got almost all of the hell jumpers killed. He was watching us on our way home and he just left us out there to die." Mitchell spoke

"Mitchell this still isn't enough for us to justify Fletcher's actions nor to put Lynch in holding." Six replied

Lynch looked at his watch "You are all great hosts and hostesses but I have to be in Kabul in the next few hours."

"Lynch you still need to give us everything you have on the white masks" Six looked at Lynch

"Ma'am you see I don't have to give you dick, I will see you around" Lynch gave a smile and walked out the room

Mike couldn't believe it For once in his military career an intelligence agency didn't give up the information they had. "You're just going to let him walk out?" he asked in an aggravate and surprised tone

"Yes Mike I have no jurisdiction over him"

"You are fucking kidding me. We save his ass and we don't get anything in return what the hell?" Mike was agitated

Mitchell sat there lighting up a cigarette he wasn't about to jump in the conversation. He got up out of his chair.

"We need the intel he has Six you know that." Mike said a little louder

"Yes Mike I know that but there is nothing I can do"

"Oh bullshit you can keep him here and make him talk." Mike was on the verge of yelling

"Baker get out and cool off I might let you comeback in here after that" Six gave a terrifying stare

Mitchell grabbed Lynch before he walked out of the room. He pulled a handgun out of the back of Lynch's pants.

"You know it's code on most military bases that you aren't allowed to carry handguns on base and you have just violated that code so that gives us to throw you in holding." Mitchell had a smug smile on his face.

Mike smiled as Mitchell was right. "You know we don't allow phone calls either isn't that right?" Mike patted Mitchell's shoulder

Six shook her head she really should intervene but if it meant getting the information from the spook she was going to let it fly. Lynch sighed

"That was rather clever Mitchell however it will only hold for a few hours and you know it."

"That's where you are wrong. You see you officially don't exist so we can hold you for as long as we like murder" Mitchell spoke in a mocking tone

"Mike take mister Lynch here into solitary make sure he has Brooks do his cavity exam." Six spoke Brooks had stupidly big hands and they weren't slender either.

As Mike walked out with lynch in hand and a soldier walked in with two boxes. He set them down on the table and walked out without saying a word. Six opened the box and there was a report in bold letters: _"Operation Point Break"_. She flipped through it there was some blacked out pieces but it was still readable. She opened the other box and there were personnel files. The one on top read _"Hellen Hawg"_ Mitchell smiled softly.

"Those are case reports and personnel files of the operation" Mitchell said as he took a long drag off his cigarette

"How do you know that?" Six asked as she leafed through the reports

"Because I know the guy who has the originals and the modified versions." Mitchell looked out the corner of his eye

"What is their name?" Meghan asked

"Jack Revel he hailed from the SEALs" Mitchell took a huff

"He never told me that he was a Hell Jumper" Six spoke which surprised both Meghan and Mitchell

"I'm not surprised as most of this was classified information." Mitchell said

Harding continued his story

 _ ***Flashback begins***_

 **February 24, 2011**

 **Location unknown**

They had covered twenty miles however they were low on supplies and equipment. Hawg's leg had only gotten worse same for Travis's wound as they had to keep pushing themselves and Harding didn't have enough medical equipment to keep patching up their wounds. Everyone was tired and ready to go home. They were in another small town. Mitchell and Jack were always on point Forest and Mike had the rear Harding had assistance from the others for Travis and Hawg. They trudged through the dirt town. It was dead quiet not a single noise.

"This doesn't feel right" Mitchell said quietly

"Boss we need to divert this is sketchy as shit." Jack added

"I know but this is the only way home." Travis replied.

They came to a t road it was extremely open and dangerous.

"Mitchell I will cover you" Jack said taking a stance behind the building and putting his sights down the street

"I swear to god if I get shot I'm going to kill you" Mitchell gave a smile

He looked down the road and he sighed. He sprinted as fast as he could and he made it to the other side of the street safely he put his sights down the road.

"Forest get up here we need you to give cover for the wounded" Jack spoke

"Got it" Forest crouched and got right next to Jacks legs

"Why don't you give me a blow while you are down there" Jack smiled

"I'm not gay like you Navy boys" Forest fired back playfully

"Harding, you, Hawg, Clayton, and Maxwell cut across first." Travis spoke

They all nodded. Harding looked to Hawg "are you ready?"

"As I will ever be" she spoke

Harding looked down the road and they started to cross the street they all got to the center of the cross and the Taliban fighters opened up from a building down the street Harding swept Hawg off her feet and darted to the building that Mitchell was at. Clayton and Maxwell returned fire but were quickly picked off. Harding set Hawg down and he returned fire with his MTAR.

"Fletcher?" Hawg spoke weakly

"Wait a minute" Harding replied

"Fletch?" she tried again.

Harding turned behind cover to throw a fresh mag in and he looked at her. There was blood coming from just below her chest.

"Oh shit" Harding threw his gun down and put pressure on her wound

Mitchell also turned around his jaw dropped as he drop the empty mag to the ground.

"This is just going to ruin my whole damn day" She said she getting weaker by the second "Fletcher can you fix it?" she asked

A grim and sad look washed over his face. He looked her in the eyes he felt a lump in his throat and tears were starting to well up. "No" he said shakily

She had a few tears "Fletch I wish we could've had that beer." She tried to smile "Fletch I don't want to go"

"I don't want you to go either." He responded he had a tear stream down his face as he wiped hers

"Fletch I feel cold" she looked at him with fear

"I know" Harding responded

Hawg pulled a letter out of her chest rig and handed it to him. "Give this to my parents"

"I will" he said shakily after putting the letter in his pack

"Fletch don't leave me" her vision was growing dark

"I'm right here I'm not going anywhere" He tried to keep his composure

"Fletch…I…I…"

"What Hellen?" He was fighting the tears

She pulled on his chest rig pulling him close and she kissed Harding's cheek and she laid back and she exhaled softly before passed. Harding felt rage and sadness consume him as he looked at her blood on his gloves. Mitchell turned

"Harding don't" Mitchell said hastily as loaded a fresh mag

Harding was already off the deep end and he kicked the door in that went to the building they were taking cover behind. His rage got to him and there was no one getting in his way. He had his tomahawk in hand he sprinted through the house and out into the alley way his fist tightly clenched around the hilt of the hawk.

"FUCK" Mitchell returned fire

Forest and Jack were keeping their fire up. They looked up to catch a glimpse of Harding running through the alleyways.

"OH SHIT" Jack exclaimed

Harding climbed an outdoor stair well that the terrorist weren't covering. He walked in with rage boiling at the seams. He grabbed one terrorist and put the hawk deep in his chest killing him. The other terrorist turned to face Harding. He used the body of the dead terrorist as a meat shield until he got close enough to grab another. He took the live terrorist behind cover and he struck the terrorist in the head killing him instantly. His uniform was slowly being covered in blood. Another terrorist came around the corner and Harding grabbed him and he struck him once in the chest and once in the neck

"I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU" Harding yelled

He sprinted at the last terrorist who looked at him in fear. Harding threw the hawk right into the terrorist chest which caused him to fall to the floor. Harding took the hawk and just went to town on that goat fucker his uniform was drenched in blood and guts. What felt like a few seconds was really few minutes of constant hacking on this terrorist. He let out a guttural scream of rage, blood spewed all over him and the hallway. After ten minutes of hard hacking, Harding couldn't lift his arm after he was done he sat down on the floor that was drenched in blood. He sat against the wall and stared blankly at the wall. His uniform that was once black was now red. After five minutes Mitchell came up to the room to see Harding on the floor. Mitchell was in awe at how much blood there was.

"Harding?" Mitchell asked

"What Mitch?" he responded softly

"Are you good?" Mitchell was weary of getting close he noticed the tomahawk had guts hanging off the blade it scared him as he had never seen Harding lose it like that before

"No" was all that he responded

"Let's get you outside in the fresh air" Mitchell said getting closer

"They fucking killed her" Harding stared blankly at the wall

"Yeah they did but you can't mourn right now we need to move." Mitchell spoke in a soft tone

"I'm going to make every terrorist suffer the way I have suffered and I'm going rip their goddamn hearts out with my bare fucking hands." Harding said very calmly

"Fletcher let's get moving the team is waiting." Mitchell stood in front of Harding

"I don't know if I can"

Mitchell wasn't sure how Harding was going to react but it was his only chance "She would want you to take care of the team and get that letter to her parents."

Harding got off the floor and he took his tomahawk with him he didn't even bother to clean it. They walked on to the street and regrouped with the team. Everyone looked at Harding with light amounts of fear. Travis was the first to speak

"I'm sorry kid I know you two were close" Travis put his hand on Harding's shoulder.

Harding didn't say a word as he looked to ground and grabbed his MTAR off the ground and put a fresh mag in. "Let's get moving" was all that Harding said as he took point there were tears in his eyes and he didn't want anyone to see he did his best to keep his emotions under wraps.

It was down to Travis, Forest, Jack, Mitchell, and Harding. The others were concerned with Harding. They couldn't bury the bodies as they needed to keep moving. A piece of Harding had died in that town on that day this was the second piece of his transformation into the ghost.

 **February 26, 2011**

 **Location unknown time unknown**

The evening sun was setting the last survivors had covered twenty miles. Travis was getting bad he could only walk a few miles before he would have to stop. Everyone was tired. Their combat wears were tattered and worn the only thing that was not torn or shredded was the American flag on their shoulders which they put on as they got closer to the base. Jack had the duty of helping Travis despite him being nearly a whole foot taller than Travis. They were close to a set of foot hills there were some outcrops and a cave or two.

"Guys I need to stop" Travis spoke with labored breathing

"Trav we only covered five miles" Jack spoke

"Let's get into a building and post up for the night." Harding spoke.

"We need to keep moving we are so close." Forest replied

"We are stopping damn it he is in pain and we can't keep pushing him so hard." Harding curtly fired back

"Ok we will stop" Mitchell said

Harding's patience and temper had been cut short ever since they left that town. He was easy to set off, he exploded on Forest earlier that day after he made a smart remark.

"I'll clear that cave and we will stop for the night." Harding spoke

He stepped into the dark abyss and turned on the flash light and he scoured every inch of the cave there were no entry points from the back and there were no cobra's or other dangerous animals.

"It's clear" Harding yelled

They took Travis in there and Harding got everything he needed out of his pack which wasn't a lot. He set it down for Travis to use as a pillow. The laid him down.

"Forest and Mitchell I want you two to go out on a small patrol, Jack you get some rest." Travis spoke

No one questioned his orders as he was still in command but unfortunately it wouldn't be much longer. Jack sat on the floor of the cave and he instantly fell asleep. Harding had opened Travis shirt and he closely inspected the wound.

"What's word doc?" Travis softly smiled

"It looks ok no signs of infection although it looks like the wound was stretched open a little more luckily you aren't bleeding but that doesn't mean it won't cut loose again. I don't have any more bandages to patch it and I have no more disinfectant." Harding replied coldly

He immediately tore the lower half of the sleeves on his fatigues making it look like he was wearing a t shirt. Travis looked at him in confusion. Harding wrapped the sleeves around Travis's wound.

"It's not the best but it will have to do" Harding said as he grabbed boxers tape from his bag.

"Kid I know Hawg's death hurt you a lot but you need to have a cool head. Whether they know it or not they need you, you are like their rock and it's not good that you are short on patience and your temper gets the best of you." Travis looked to Harding

Harding let out a sigh and he looked to the rock floor "I know but I can't help myself just…It's just" He started to fight back tears.

"Kid breath you don't have to talk about it, all I'm asking is that you loosen up some. I don't know what you are going through or how you feel and I want you to know after we get out of this mess I will be there for you, you don't have to face it alone." Travis looked at Harding

Harding nodded not saying a word as he wrapped his forearms in the boxer tape to protect them from the elements. Mitchell and forest were a mile or two away from the cave neither of them had a lot of ammunition and if they got caught in an engagement they would have to run.

"Hey check that ridge I thought I saw something move" Forest pointed to the ridge

Mitchell looked down his scope and saw nothing. "I think you are seeing things there is nothing there."

They walked a little further in silence they really didn't know what to say to each other, they were both tired and ready to go home. Forest finally decided to speak.

"Man I can't wait to get home and see mom and dad again" Forest had a smile grow a smile on his face thinking of home

"Same, Have one of mom's deer burgers with cheese, mayo, tomato, lettuce and some of her home made hot sauce with her coleslaw to with it. Damn that sounds good right now" Mitchell spoke as he was very hungry and the MRE's weren't cutting it.

"Dude shut up I'm already hungry as it is I don't need more of a tease right now" Forest softly chuckled

"I can't wait to get home." Mitchell smiled

They walked a little bit further and there was a group of insurgents heading their way.

"Mitch grab cover 7 tangos three hundred yards" Forest spoke in a hushed tone

Mitchell and Forest took cover behind a group of rocks. They put their sights on the insurgents.

"Wait til' they get closer then we chalk 'em up" Mitchell spoke

The insurgents moved closer and closer to their position. The insurgents didn't know Mitchell or forest were there. They got to hundred yards.

"Fire" Mitchell said with haste

They popped up over the rock and opened up quickly dispatching the insurgents with ease but what they didn't see was the other eight behind the first group. They became locked in a fire fight.

"FOREST FRAG 'EM" Mitchell shouted

Forest pulled the last frag off of his chest rig. He moved closer and chucked it into the group it exploded killing three of them.

"Fuck, five behind second rock fifty yards" Forest yelled

Mitchell was about to load a fresh mag and he felt around his chest rig only to be met with empty pouches.

"SON OF A BITCH" he yelled

He loaded his final incendiary into the grenade launcher *PHOMP* the launcher yelled as the projectile was launched over the rock the insurgents were cowering behind. There was a moment of silence and followed by an explosion and screams. Mitchell came out of his cover handgun drawn. Forest popped up

"Jesus you fried them" Forest spoke looking at the bodies as they were completely scorched almost down to the bone

Mitchell just chuckled as he picked up on of the AK-47's of the ground and all the ammunition he could carry on his chest rig. He looked to Forest.

"They claim this is the best gun ever made what do you think?" Mitchell smiled as he put his M4 in his bag.

"I don't think it is I would much rather have my M4 than that trash." Forest smiled as they made their way back to the cave

They came to the cave Harding was sitting next to Travis as he was laying down. Travis got on his elbows to look at the two after their trek.

"You guys alright?" Travis asked

"Yeah we are good" Forest spoke with a smile

Travis laid down as they sat down Harding was looking out to the horizon he couldn't seem to get Hawg out of his head. Hours streamed by He was stayed awake for most of the night catching limited amounts of sleep.

 **February 27, 2018**

 **Location Unknown time unknown**

Lynch had heard about the survivors and paid off his towel head buddies to finish them off Lynch was overly confidant in his radicalized friends. It was around two in the morning Travis had woke up from a liquid coming out of him he didn't know how long ago it started but all he knew was that he had to do was maintain pressure. Harding was asleep and Travis was having a difficult time waking Harding.

"Fletcher" he spoke in a low whisper "Fletcher" he spoke a little louder "Fletch" He spoke at conversation volume

Harding snapped awake and he looked at Travis. "What?" He wiped his eyes

"My wound reopened"

Harding walked over and turned on the lantern that he had Travis was very pale and the floor was drenched in blood. "Fuck you have been bleeding for a while you are really pale and I have no more bandages." Harding put immense pressure on the wound "what's your blood type?"

"O neg" Travis replied

"Shit I can't give you a blood transfusion. I'm O positive. Mitch is AB negative. Jack is B pos and Forest is A neg." Harding kept pressure

"What does that mean?" Travis asked he knew what it meant he just wanted to make sure

"Unless we can get the bleeding to stop and not move you until we get another radio and get you out by chopper then well *a hard swallow* you will die" Harding didn't bother to filter himself

"I want to see my kid in person Fletcher" Travis looked up at Harding

"I want that to so I need you to focus on that" Harding said as he kept pressure on the wound

After 10 minutes the bleeding didn't stop Travis was becoming very tired and weak. He was holding a picture of his wife and his son in his hand. He was growing cold.

"Fletch I'm sorry to put this on you but you are in charge" Travis spoke his voice shook

"don't talk like that man you scare the shit out of me" Harding spoke "you will get home you are going to see your daughter."

"Fletch I'm at the end of my rope you and I both know that now save your strength you will need it, it's going to be a long trek for you guys." Travis gave a weak smile his eyes were growing droopy

Harding sighed "I'm not going to let you go out without a fight."

Travis maintained a weak smile "That's what I like about you, you won't go down without a fight. It's inspirational, when times seemed grim during the op you always knew what to do or what to say. That's part of the reason I put you at the second in command position. You will make one hell of a leader kid." He took a few large breaths "Make sure my wife and kids get my letter and that they know I love them and I will be watching over them. *looks at the picture* I love you both" he put the picture on his chest and he closed his eyes and left the earth and stepped into the afterlife.

Harding sat back down and he slumped down. "I'm sorry my friend" he put his hand on Travis's chest and he was fighting back tears. Harding's Negative side kicked in _"You couldn't save the first ten you couldn't save Hawg and now Travis a man with a family. You knew you should have packed those extra bandages before you left the safe house but nooo you didn't pack them out of pure ignorance." His leadership side stepped up silencing the negative "Ok, we need to get out of here with the rest of the team it will be easier travelling now tomorrow we get home and take care of everything" "it's all my fault" "you can't worry about it right now just focus on surviving and getting the team out of the hot zone." "it's still my fault" "damn right it is" his negative called out "shut up and focus damn it we have got this far you need to finish the job and get the team home it's your responsibility."_

It was about five in the morning Mitchell was writing in his journal. Harding was extremely quiet not even a good morning. Jack and Forest were saying good bye to their friend for one last time before they started their journey. they held their emotions back as they needed to have clear heads to in order to survive here in the wild. Harding stood up.

"We have fifteen miles left we are getting home I promise you that" Harding spoke with confidence

"I believe you Fletch" Jack smiled "now let's get going and go home" he added

"Let's go home Fletcher" Mitchell smiled

"What the hell lets go" Forest gave a smile as well

The team left the cave Harding continued to carry his pack even though there wasn't hardly anything in it. They only made it five miles and they could hear the choppers and the Humvees they started running their hearts filled with hope and excitement. They were in a town Jack was clearing corners as they ran Harding was at the head with Mitchell and Forest in the rear. They ran with joy as they were running Harding heard a distinct sound.

"RPG TAKE COVER" He yelled

They all scattered Harding dove behind a car. Jack ran into a building. Mitchell and Forest scrambled to get behind a car. The rocket hit causing dirt to fly everywhere the heat was immense. There was a small patrol of Marines close by they heard the explosion and immediately ran toward the commotion. They posted up in a taller building and they watched the fight.

"Simmons call into command and tell them that we have Americans in a firefight with Taliban insurgents. We need chopper support they look like ben through hell" The Sargent spoke his southern accent punching through.

"Why are we helping these guys?" Griff asked

"Damn it Griff they are brothers in arms and the enemy feel the wrath of the red team. Simmons hurry up" The Sargent exclaimed

"Got it Sarge. Redrock 2-1 this is Voodoo 6-3 we have Soldiers fighting insurgents requesting Blackhawk extract and over watch."

"Roger Voodoo we are dispatching choppers you have permission to engage"

"Ok we insert from behind we help them get grouped up and rtb" the Sargent spoke

The Marines nodded and they came behind Harding who was down to his handgun as his MTAR was empty.

"FRIENDLIES ON YOUR SIX" The Sargent yelled

Harding turned around "I HAVE ONE GUY IN THE BUILDING PINNED AND I HAVE TWO MORE BEHIND THE CAR WE NEED TO FALLBACK INTO THE BUILDING UNTIL WE CAN EXTRACT" Harding shouted

Jack was forced out of the building by an RPG. He was able to get to Harding and the Sargent. "FINALLY WE CAUGHT A BREAK"

"WE AREN'T OUT OF THE WOODS YET" Harding yelled back

The Marines had gotten to Mitchell and Forest. The wingbeat of the chopper could be heard close by.

"WE NEED TO GET TO COVER" Mitchell yelled

A chopper flew over miniguns spraying down the Taliban there was another chopper landing in the street.

"EVERYONE TO THE CHOPPER" Harding screamed at the top of his lungs everyone could hear it

They all started running for the chopper at top speed. Forest and Mitchell were in front Jack was in the rear. One of the Marines was shot his vest caught it his buddy helped him up. "SINPER" the Marine shouted. Forest was shot right in the heart the bullet went through him and it hit Mitchell in his left shoulder.

"SON OF A BITCH" Mitchell screamed holding his shoulder not even realizing Forest's blood was all over his shirt and his face.

They both fell to the ground. Jack was shot in his right leg he fell to the ground they were under heavy fire.

"FUUCK" Jack yelled pulling himself to the chopper

Two Marines grabbed Forest. Harding grabbed Mitchell and took him to the chopper not realizing that Jack wasn't right behind him. He set Mitchell in a seat and he turned seeing Jack limping to the chopper. Harding sprinted at top speed and he almost threw Jack on his back.

"DON'T QUIT ON ME NOW" Harding shouted

One Taliban insurgent fired his RPG and it his close to Harding and Jack. Both were sent flying. The lower half of Jacks right leg was blown off Harding took some shrapnel to his right arm and piece cut up the right side of his face (This is the facial scar's story as well) and some below his right eye.

"GOD DAMN IT" Harding shouted closing his right eye

Harding's adrenaline was keeping him in the fight there was still heavy fire even with the chopper giving covering fire. Harding ran right to Jack and grabbed his plate carrier and he was dragging Jack to the chopper there was blood streaming down Harding's face. They had a few feet to the chopper and he was shot in his left leg.

"FUCK" Harding yelped

"GRAB 'EM GRAB 'EM GRAB 'EM" the Sargent yelled.

The Marines grabbed the both of them and got them on the chopper it was an extremely fast take off. Jack went into shock. Harding passed out from exhaustion and blood loss Mitchell was barely awake Forest was well dead.

 **February 28, 2011**

 **1300 hours F.O.B 'Headhunter'**

Harding had just come out of his anesthetics he had a patch over his right eye and bandages wrapped around his left leg. Mitchell had his shirt off with bandages on his shoulder he was on Harding's right side in his blind spot. Harding's left eye fluttered opened and he panicked.

"Mitchell?! Where are you? Mitch?!" there was panic in his voice

"I'm here I'm right here" Mitchell spoke calmly

"I can't see you" Harding raised his arm feeling around for Mitchell

Mitchell grabbed his hand and gave it a hard squeeze.

"Where are we?" Harding asked taking in his surroundings the best he could

"We are at Headhunter in the medical bay"

"Why can't I see out of my eye?"

"You caught some shrapnel in your right arm and below your right eye you also took a bullet to the leg"

"Where is Jack and Forest? Do you have the letters?" Harding asked

"Jack is in recovery he lost the lower half of his right leg but he is alive and he will be ok" Mitchell kept a calm tone

"And Forest?" Harding looked at Mitchell

Mitchell frowned and his look shifted "he uh…he died he took a bullet to the heart and the bullet went into my shoulder"

"Damn it" Harding closed his eye and he seemed to sink into the bed

"It wasn't your fault it wasn't anyone's fault"

The doctor came into the room he had a smile.

"Well mister Fletcher you got lucky and there was no damage to your right eye. But you will have a facial scar. We were able to pull all of the shrapnel out of your arm and face the bullet didn't fragment in your leg so you lucked out again. You and your team have orders to return state side. For you I would say you take it easy and don't over exert yourself your leg will take time to heal. Seeing as you had surgery almost 7 months ago around your heart I say you need to stay out of the field and extensive training for a few months. For pain medication you should get your standard over the counter Tylenol. Other than that you are ok." The doctor smiled as he started to take the eye patch off.

"Doc is Thomas Lynch still around?" Harding asked

"Lynch? No he left a week ago" the Doctor spoke calmly

This ignited a fire in Harding it was rage. Harding managed to keep his heart rate down. The doctor finished taking off his eyepatch. Vision in that was blurry but he could still make things out. The doctor smiled.

"Your vision will return in a few days. Mister Packston could I speak to you in private?" The doctor asked

"Yeah" Mitchell nodded

They walked out of the door

"What do you need doc?"

"Fletcher's mom died two weeks ago they already had the services. They buried her next to his dad"

Mitchell's head dropped "fuck" he lightly stomped his right foot

"That's what I said, i must say you guys are very lucky to be alive" The Doctor added before walking away

Mitchell stood outside the door contemplating on how to tell Fletcher about his mother he took a breath for confidence and walked back in the room

"What did he want?" Harding asked

"Harding, I don't know how to say this other than to tell you straight up."

"What is it Mitch?" Fletcher asked he knew it was bad

"Your mom died two weeks ago and they already had the services and she's next to your dad" Mitchell had a sombrous tone

Harding started to cry as all the death of all the Hell Jumpers and his mom's death had broke him into pieces.

"God DAMN IT! I didn't get to say good bye to her or dad"

Mitchell stayed close by keeping Harding company he didn't want him to alone. The Outlaw was no more. He was a broken man that had nothing. This was the day the ghost was born nothing but a broken man that only had revenge and sorrow to cling to.

"It's all my fucking fault" Harding managed to squeeze out

"Fletcher it's not your fault that you couldn't be there to say good bye"

"It's my fault I wasn't there. It's my fault I wasn't ready for the ambush. It's my fault I didn't bring enough medical equipment." Harding continued to cry "I promise that I'm going to kill the bastard responsible for this."

Mitchell just stayed close by as he didn't want to get in a fight with Harding and he really didn't want to leave him in a room alone he just stayed quiet as Fletcher poured his heart out.

 _ ***Flashback end***_

 **June 25, 2018**

 **1400 hours Hereford**

Harding had tears streaming down his face and his voice shook as he spoke.

"How did you know Lynch was involved and how did you get the footage of the event?" Jack asked

"After I got back I decided to poke around in the servers to see what I could find and I found the transaction logs, the drone and the body cam footage. That bastard Lynch is responsible for their deaths. He got a fucking twenty year old kid killed just because we had information that we didn't even know we had. He was still a baby with a promising future." Harding slammed his fist down on the table as hard as he could "GOD DAMN IT" Harding put his hands over his face to hide his tears.

"We will be back shortly" Jack spoke he looked at Taina gestured to the door quietly

They both exited the room and the walked to the observation area Mitchell was still smoking the room smelled of cigarettes. Six looked to Jack and Taina

"Is he telling the truth?"

"Yeah he is his body language and everything says that it's genuine" Jack spoke

"I agree with Jack on this he is telling the truth." Taina nodded

"Let him go" Six spoke

Jack nodded and he released Harding's cuffs and Harding didn't sprint but he rushed back to his room without saying a word to anybody. He got to his room and locked the door again and broke down and there was no stopping it. Everyone on the base had heard his story and they all felt sympathy towards him. Even Mike felt bad as he had experienced loss but not like what Harding and Mitchell had been through. But he knew what they felt. Mitchell turned in his seat to face Six.

"Well are you going to throw him in a cell?" Mitchell asked

"No, but I will have my legal team working on building a case against Lynch." Six gave a half smile which was rare

Mitchell smiled "thank you ma'am" he put out his cigarette and he walked out of the room with Meghan in tow

Mitchell turned to Meghan "I know you want to go comfort him right now but it's probably best you leave him alone for at least a few hours."

Meghan nodded with a soft blushing coming over her face as she didn't expect Mitchell to know about her crush. "May I ask why?"

"He is very unpredictable when he is like this. One time he nearly took my head off but then again we also started arguing. This is one stage where I don't know how he will react or what. Just I don't want anyone getting hurt physically or emotionally. You could go up there but like I said I don't know how he will react but whatever you do don't say I love you or it's not your fault as it will end badly." Mitchell looked her dead in the eyes

"Thanks for letting me know Mitch and I'm sorry that the two of you had to go through that" She had sympathy in her voice

"Thank you, it still hurts but hopefully Lynch will be put away for good" Mitchell smiled as he walked on

Meghan walked to Harding's room and she knocked and there wasn't a reply. She felt around the door for a spare key and she didn't find one and thought about Mitchell's door and she felt above the doorframe pulled down the key and she hoped it would work she put the key in the door knob and unlocked the door and she peeked in and she saw him on the floor next to his bed sobbing. She walked in and quietly shut the door behind her and sat down next to him.

"Are you going to be ok?" She softly asked

He didn't say a word and he turned and hugged her tightly. She was shocked by the action but returned. He had a tight hold on her.

"I just need quiet right now" he shakily replied as he hugged her tightly.

"Ok" she spoke softly

 **A/N: Long Chapter isn't it. The final word count was 12,204. I hope you enjoyed the chapter the next one will not be this long. I appreciate everyone reading this story. I will have Mitchell and Harding talk about the funeral of the The Hell Jumpers in a later chapter. I hope you enjoyed, don't be afraid to leave a review. There is a small Easter egg for those of you who watch Red vs Blue it isn't the best Easter egg but it is one none the less.**


	13. Chapter 13: Lost and Found

**A/N: Hey everyone sorry this took so long to produce but school and other matters delayed my progress on writing this chapter. I really didn't know how to follow up the last chapter as everyone loved it which is another reason why this took so long. This chapter is slower than the last. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Please let me know if I missed any mistakes and don't be afraid to leave a review. I hope you Enjoy!**

 _ **Chapter 13: Lost and Found**_

 **June 26, 2018**

 **0800 hours Hereford**

It had been two days since Harding spoke his piece about The Hell Jumpers. He had been acting very strange. Well strange compared to the other ops. He would work out, target practice, and run simulations during the night and sleep during the day he would run simulations during the day with the rest of the team but he was even less social than before. Mitchell obviously knew why he was acting this way. No one else could figure out why he was behaving this way. It was because he was feeling vulnerable, weak, and guilty. It didn't help that he had visits from the Hell Jumpers in his sleep. Being the person that he is, he absolutely hated this feeling so he would push himself as hard as he could in the gym and simulations. Gustave had a rough idea as to why he became a night owl and he didn't like that he wasn't getting eight hours of sleep and it could cause him to make poor decisions in the field. Meghan was also concerned about Harding. She was able to get a hello and a fake smile out of him while everyone else got a nod of acknowledgement. The fourth of July was coming most of the American operators put in for leave but only a select few were going to be able to home for the holiday. Those were Mitchell, Jordan, and Meghan. The rest were confided to Hereford. Eliza was a little upset as she wanted to spend the holiday with her boyfriend and not on the base. It was a warm rainy day the rain drops where as cold as ice. The breakfast that everyone was somewhat enjoying was an omelet buffet where they could build their own omelet. Craig was trying to have heart attack according to Jordan. As his omelet had extra cheese, bacon, peppers, and added salt. Meghan was with the usual crew. Only this time the Russian ops joined them. Mitchell was with Tina as they had grown quite close. James, Elias, Miles, and Sebastian. Were at the table with them.

"I wish I could go with you Jordan" Eliza said all depressed like

"I wish you could to but Six said that she couldn't afford to have the two of us go home at the same time." Jordan hugged her tightly

"I was hoping to meet your parents."

"I know I want you to meet them as well they would love you almost as much as I love you" Jordan smiled

She gave him a kiss and smiled. Craig shook his head.

"Getta room" Craig smiled

"Go back to your heart attack omelet there snackbeard" Jordan fired back

Meanwhile at Mitchell's table

"You are one lucky bastard to get the fourth of July off" Miles spoke

"I know but you see unlike you I'm out in the field more often and I can actually use my gadget to benefit the team." Mitchell smiled taking a jab

The rest chuckled Miles did too

"Yeah, yeah, whatever" Miles smiled brushing off the comment

"I can't help but notice zhat you two have gotten close." Elias decided to pick on Mitchell some

"You know I saw that too Elias it's like they want to date but they are afraid of something" James joined in

Tina already had a blush coming over her face.

"You should see the way she looks at him it's like a dog looking at slab of meat." Sebastian smiled

Tina was hiding her face Mitchell had a light blush but he was smiling. The others had smiles on their faces.

"Alright I think we embarrassed Tina enough" Miles spoke with a smile

"How did Harding get the callsign ghost?" James asked changing the subject

"Well you heard the story two days ago. After that he was never the same. He was there but he wasn't there. Man briefing rooms had a whole new level tension and it made the top brass really nervous. You know in the simulations and you know cav is somewhere but you don't know where?" Mitchell spoke calmly

"Yeah" they responded

"It was like that all the time except he was in the room all the time and his presence would cause the tension in the room to rise rapidly and it reminded one of the C.O's of how a ghost haunts a house or an area so he started calling him ghost and the name never left him." Mitchell took a bite out of his omelet.

"Interesting vhere did the cloaking unit come from?" Elias asked

"That's classified information that I am not at liberty to tell anyone."

They gave annoyed looks and rolled their eyes. They went on back to eating. The room was filled with conversations. Meghan was at her table she seemed very distracted and disengaged from the conversation. Timur was the only one who noticed. He was sitting next to her and he gave her a soft nudge. She looked at him.

"Are you alright?" he asked

"Yeah I'm fine" she looked at him he could tell she was lying

"Yeah right" he replied "does it have to do with family?"

She sighed and shook her head and she took a bite out of her omelet.

"Does it have to do with a close friend?" he asked

She shrugged

"Does it have to do with someone on this team?"

She nodded and continued to eat

"Is it Fletcher?"

She nodded and blushed lightly "I'm worried about him he hasn't been his normal self since he talked about the Hell Jumpers."

"Well that was a traumatic experience and he needs time just have patience" Tim smiled at the blonde

She nodded and went back to eating. The ops finished eating and they started to file out of the room to their daily duties. Mitchell and Tina walked out. Tina stopped Mitchell.

"At eight o'clock I want you to meet me at the motor pool you don't need to dress nicely but don't dress like a slob." Tina smirked

Mitchell smiled big "alright I'll be there" they went in for a kiss

Gustave had smile and he cleared his throat to get their attention. They both turned red and looked at the Frenchman. "That's cute. Madame Tsang if it's ok I need to barrow your friend for a few minutes."

She smiled and nodded "Yes Gustave it's ok, *looks to Mitchell* don't be late"

Mitchell smiled "I won't"

Tina walked off. Gustave took Mitchell to his office.

"What is it Gustave?" Mitchell asked taking a seat

"I want to talk about Fletcher"

"Ok, what do you want to know?" Mitchell asked

"When was the last time he took leave?"

"Uhh *scratches his head* maybe seven years"

Gustave's jaw dropped "I hope you are kidding"

"No I'm not"

"Why hasn't he taken leave?"

"Well he doesn't want to go home as he has nothing to go home to. No parents, no girlfriend, no kids, no nothing. He thinks if he stays in the field someone else won't have to experience the horrors he has been through and to be honest that's probably why he has PTSD. I tried getting him to go home with me but he will not go." Mitchell eased back into the chair

Gustave nodded and sighed "Next question, why has he been a night owl so to speak?"

"Well he feels weak and compromised and he doesn't want the team to see that. He feels that he is the rock of which people can rely on and confide in and he doesn't want anyone to know that he feels weak."

"How would he react if I were to force him to take leave?" Gustave asked

"Well he will fight you for every inch of the way. You will have to try really fuckin' hard if you want him to go he won't listen to me." Mitchell looked at the doctor

"If he won't go home with you. Then will he go with Jordan?"

"It's hard to say but plausible"

"What about Meghan?"

"That you might have a better chance of getting him to go. I'll bet she will happily take him with her" Mitchell smiled

Gustave nodded "I have to go talk to Six about this but I could use a hand in coaxing Meghan to take him with her"

"I can help but I can't give a guarantee that Harding will go"

"Ok, I will let you know when I need you" Gustave gave a smile

Mitchell left the office and Gustave grabbed a jacket and walked to Six's office. The rain was absolutely cold but the air was warm. He knocked on Six's door. There was a moment of silence.

"Who is it?" six called out

"Gustave"

"Come in Gustave"

Gustave walked in and took a seat at the mahogany desk. Six looked up from her work.

"To what do I owe the pleasure mister Kateb?" Six looked at him

"Ma'am I want to talk to you about Fletcher"

"What about him?"

"I need him to take leave during the upcoming American holiday." Gustave spoke calmly

"Gustave I already have made my decisions for those to go home. I can't afford to have any more operators to go home."

"Ma'am it has come to my attention that Fletcher hasn't taken leave in seven years. That's a long time without any decompression from a war zone and his mind needs a break. I'm putting him on a sabbatical for the holiday. It would help him in the long run."

Six sighed and pushed back into her chair and thought for a few minutes. She really didn't want to give up another operator but she knew if Gustave was bringing it up it probably needed to happen. She let out another sigh. "Ok I will allow it but you need to tell him about this"

"Merci and I will ma'am." Gustave gave a smile and a nod

 **1000 hours Hereford**

Everyone was off to their morning routines. Meghan was doing her laps in the pool. She was still a little sour that she didn't get into the Olympics but she enjoyed her job here with Rainbow more than she ever would with the Olympics team. She found the water relaxing as it was warm. She loved the smell of the chlorine as it reminded her of home and a simpler time. The feeling of the water flowing around her body gave her comfort. She was still trying to get the best time she could. Mitchell walked into the area he stood and watched her for a few minutes. She noticed that he was there and she swam to that side of the pool.

"Hey Mitch" she took of her goggles and cap

"Hey can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked

"Yeah do you mind helping out?" she raised her hand for him to grab

He grabbed her hand and she pulled on his arm harder than he expected and he fell right into the pool with a splash. He swam to the surface and he wiped his eyes.

"Thanks I really needed a bath" he said sarcastically and playfully

Meghan just laughed. "Sorry"

"It's alright" he pulled himself out of the pool with water rushing off his clothes

She got out and she gave him her towel. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and luckily his life proof case saved his phone he let out a small sigh of relief. He emptied the rest of his pockets and he laid his wallet out as his money was drenched. "You are a lot stronger than you look" Mitchell spoke with a smile

"I'm really sorry I thought you had a good footing." Meghan spoke with a smile "what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Would you be willing to take Fletcher home with you for the fourth of July?" Mitchell was emptying his wallet

"Why doesn't he want to go home with you?" she asked

"He has nothing to go home to, and this isn't a personal choice by him. Gustave is forcing a sabbatical on him and I think he would be more willing to go with you."

"Why is Gustave forcing a sabbatical?" she asked out of curiosity

"Well the man hasn't taken leave in seven years and Gustave wants him to pursue a civilian life for a few days at least right now. He doesn't know about the sabbatical yet but me and Gustave are going to talk to him about it later i might need you to convince Fletcher" Mitchell looked at her

She nodded softly as she considered it. Then a smirk came across her face. "Yeah I can, I just need to let my parents know I'll be bringing a guest. I can try and convince him to come with me"

Mitchell smiled "he might be a little jumpy when you guys get there but try and calm him down. Country music generally seems to work but with you being around he might be calm."

Meghan nodded "Ok I can do that"

"Thanks Meg." Mitchell smiled

"No problem, again sorry for pulling you into the pool" she smiled

"It's alright, just Tina might have to pay for supper tonight" he smiled

"You are finally going on a date with her." She smirked

"I don't need everyone up my butt about it so don't go around tellin' everybody" Mitchell looked at her with some seriousness

She just laughed "ok Mitch whatever you say"

"I'm serious" Mitchell tried to keep from smiling

"Alright Mitch I won't tell anyone" she smiled

"I'll talk to you later" Mitchell spoke as he got up and left

She dove back into the pool and started right where she left off. She was swimming as hard and as fast as she could. She was thinking about home it had been quite a while since she last saw them. She was curious as to how her parents would react to her bringing someone home with her. She had taken Craig home with her for a few a days and her parents enjoyed having him around for those few days. She had feeling this would be different. Her parents would probably enjoy having him around but she was more concerned about how he would react around them and how he would be in civilian life. The fact that Mitchell wasn't coming bothered her as he was the one that could get Harding to relax no matter what. She didn't know if she could do the same. She kept swimming and pondering on the subject. Then she thought about him hugging her like he did. Even though he was upset she did enjoy at being close to him. She wanted that closeness again. After a few more laps she got out of the pool and she started to dry herself off. She grabbed her phone and she made a call. Three rings and an answer

"Hello?"

"Hi mom" She smiled

"Hi sweetheart" her mother replied "Are you coming home for the fourth?" her mom asked

"Yes I will be and I'm bringing a friend home with me as well" she started to turn red

"Is it a guy?" her mother asked. Meghan could tell where this was going

"Yes, no we are not dating" Meghan smiled softly _"Not yet at least" she continued her statement_

"I can't wait to meet him, does he have a big…?" her mom teased

"Mom!" Meghan blushed

Her mother chuckled "I'm just picking sweetie, I bet he is a nice guy"

"He does have PTSD which is why he is coming state side the doctor suggested that he went home with someone."

"Ok do you know what his triggers are?" Her mother asked

"I don't know what they are but generally it triggers in his sleep his best friend told me that he might be jumpy so we have to careful about what we do and what we say around him."

"Why isn't he going home with his friend not that I don't mind that he comes here just I'm curious to know why." Her mom sat at the kitchen table

"He and his friend grew up in the same neighborhood and he has nothing to go home to and he would be going home to an empty house." Meghan sat at the edge of the pool kicking her feet softly in the water

"Ok, well we will just have to do the best we can" Her mother smiled "How is Craig doing?" her mother asked

"He's doing well he couldn't get leave so he is stuck at the base this holiday."

"That's good, it's too bad that he couldn't take leave for this holiday. I will get the guest bedroom ready for your friend. I can't wait to see you, your father misses you dearly he will be excited to hear that your coming home for the holiday." Her mom smiled

"I have to go mom I can't wait to see you and dad again. Tell him I love him. I love you mom"

"I love you too sweetheart, I look forward to seeing you again."

"Bye mom" she had a smile on her face

"Bye sweetheart"

They hung up and Meghan couldn't help but smile thinking about home. She was excited that she was going home. She had a huge smile on her face thinking about and seeing her dad again. She finished drying off and she walked to her dorm and got changed into her work out clothes and she headed to the gym she passed Fletcher's door and she thought about knocking but she decided against it as he was probably sleeping. She continued on to start her weight workout.

 **1300 hours Hereford**

Gustave knocked on Fletcher's door.

"Fletcher it's Gustave and I need to talk to you"

He could hear shifting in the room and the opening and closing of drawers after a few minutes. Harding opened the door. He had black bags under his eyes and he looked tired as hell.

"What do you need Gustave?" he asked in an annoyed tone

"You need to come to my office and we need to talk." Gustave looked to taller man

"Alright, fine" Harding responded in a dismissive tone

They walked down to Gustave's office Mitchell was in the office looking out the window pondering on his date with Tina that he had later today he was wondering where they would be going. Harding sat down in a chair he looked at Gustave.

"What do you want to talk about?" Harding asked

"I'm putting you on a medical sabbatical for the upcoming American holiday" Gustave looked at Harding

"That's very funny Gustave what did you really want to talk about?" Harding looked to Gustave

"I'm not kidding Fletcher you are going back state side for the holiday"

"I'm not going home there is nothing that can make me go back home and I mean absolutely nothing." Fletcher was staring bullets into Gustave

"I didn't say you were going home I said state side"

"I'm still not going back I don't care if you did say state side I'm not leaving this base unless there is a terrorist attack. Or if that bastard Lynch escapes and tries to go on the run. Otherwise I'm going to stay right here." Harding spoke in an agitated tone

Mitchell looked to Harding "brother look you need to take leave and I know you don't you want to go home but at least try and be a civilian for the holiday it will be ok." He looked to Harding

"I'm still not going give the sabbatical to someone who wants to go home like Craig, Jack, Miles, or even Eliza they all want to go and I don't want to go back to the states. There is nothing there for me except broken promises and painful memories." Harding was growing more agitated by the minute

"look Fletcher you are a good guy and you are sure as hell willing to make the ultimate sacrifice but until that happens you are to listen to my orders as a physician I outrank you and if you don't go I will extend your sabbatical." Gustave was losing his patience

"Do it I dare you, I can walkout and leave this team and return to the Middle East or I could ask DOD where they want me next. Then you will have to explain to Six how you lost an operator." Harding was pissed he hated it when people tried making decisions for him.

"Harding relax he is just looking out for health and you need a vacation it has been a very long time since the last time you took one." Mitchell put his hand on Fletcher's shoulder

Harding took a breath he was still agitated "Look Gustave I have no family or anything to return to, other people on this team do and you should be sending them home. Because if I go home someone else will have to march in my place and no one needs to do that for me and they don't need to have even the slightest chance of experiencing what I have been through. So long as I am on this team I will do whatever it takes to make sure that they get home to see their families even if that means I fall behind or die or both."

"I understand what you are saying but as I am the team's medical physician I must look out for the health of all of my patients which includes you Fletcher." Gustave looked at him

Mitchell had sent a text to Meghan to come down to the office. The argument continued for a while. Meghan arrived and she knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Gustave asked as the room fell silent

"Meghan, Mitchell told me to come down here" Meghan responded

"Come in" Gustave knew she would diffuse the situation in a heart beat

" _Don't bring her into this" Harding spoke to himself_

She walked in and took a seat in the empty chair "What do you need?" she decided to play dumb

"We are trying to convince Fletcher to go state side for the holiday" Gustave had agitation in his voice.

"Why don't you want to go Fletcher?" She asked in a sweet and concerned tone

"Because there is nothing left for me to go home to" he spoke in a tone that showed less aggression.

"Would you go back state side if someone offered?" She gave a sweet and heartwarming smile

"If someone offered then yes I might go" he responded as he was softening up

" _You fucking sell out no you don't want to go back" He spoke to himself_

His brain and mouth were on completely different pages his mind spoke one thing but his mouth spoke another.

"Would like to state side with me?" Meghan asked giving puppy dog eyes

Harding smiled even though every fiber of being was fighting him _"Say no, Say no, Just say no. You don't want to go home" his mind rambled on in a somewhat panicked state_ "yes I will go state side with you" _"Oh for fucks sake. What the hell is wrong with you man? Are you stupid or are you dumb I'm confused." As usual it was his negative side speaking out_

Meghan smiled big "I'm happy that you decided to go with me"

Harding plastered on a fake smile "I am too, no if you will excuse me" Harding walked out of the office without realizing he played right into their trap card. _"You aren't happy you dumb ass you can't even listen to your damn self" his negative side continued_

"That was a good job Meghan I'm surprised that he rolled over like that generally he would still be fighting with whomever" Mitchell smiled

"Thank you" Meghan smiled "for a man so perceptive he sure as hell didn't see that coming"

"I would pin that on the sleep deprivation." Gustave smirked

"I'm glad that he did choose to come with me as parents are looking forward to meeting him" _"I can't wait to get to know him better and maybe see his body" she continued in her head_ a smirk formed on her face.

"As much as I like having company in my office I can't have you guys in here patient confidentiality" Gustave smiled and waved them out of the room

Mitchell and Meghan left the room

"Meg I really appreciate you doing this and if there are any problems just give me a call or shoot me a text. I will do what I can to alleviate the problem." Mitchell smiled

"No problem, I will put you on speed dial in case there is a problem" She smiled "Make sure you take Tina to a nice restaurant tonight"

"She is the one picking the restaurant but she didn't say for me to dress nicely so I'm assuming we are going to something that is the equivalent to a Bob Evans" Mitchell looked to her

"A what?" she asked confused

"A Bob Evans restaurant, do you not have those out in Cali?" Mitchell looked at her baffled

"I have never heard of it"

"It must be a regional thing then, it's a casual restaurant that has mostly home recipes." Mitchell lightly smiled

"It must be, but you better treat her nice or she will fill your room with those traps of hers and then you will have to answer to Seb and Me." She put light amounts of threat into her voice

"Believe me I'm not like that I know what it's like to be used and cheated on so I promise that I won't treat her badly." Mitchell gave a serious look

They walked to the rec room only to hear yelling. They peaked into the room only to see Zofia and Ela going at it they were yelling in polish. Everyone in the room was as far back as they could be as they didn't want to get caught in the middle of the dispute.

"Does this happen often?" Mitchell asked as he had never seen the sisters fight before

"Yes" Meghan let out a sigh

Mitchell walked into the room as the Bosak sisters continued to yell paying no attention to Mitchell. He has defused bombs before so this couldn't be as hard as that now could it? He took a minute to observe a situation. He was kind of annoyed at the yelling he took in a breath.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, DAMN" Mitchell yelled at the top of his lungs

The room fell silent both sisters looked at him baffled. Gilles looked at Mitchell and he shook his head with wide and panicked eyes. As everyone was wondering what was going to happen. The only people to break up their disputes was Vincente and Mike. They both looked at him.

"Look you guys have been here for a year and you still can't get over your differences, seriously" Mitchell spoke with some light annoyance

"Stay out of this, this is a family affair" Ela spoke with hate her eyes locked on her sister

"For once we agree on something" Zofia spoke

"I read about your father and I'm deeply sorry *he looks to Zofia* do you think he would want you to fight your little sister? I have my doubts that he would. *looks to Ela* I know he was hard on you always wanting you to do more but it was never enough. But understand this if it wasn't for him you would have never met Meghan, you would have never been in GROM, You never would have went to art school or joined a PMC, and you wouldn't be you. I spent the first ten years of my life in a foster care system without a mother, father, or a family at all, I didn't live in a house that belonged to one person either. I had fight and steal for everything. Be happy that you had what you had. You had a father you had a family that cared for you whether you know it or not. Every family that I was a part of I watched die around me and in my damn arms be grateful that you two are still connected even if you don't get along. Consider that and get over this damn rivalry and hate, for the love god." Mitchell looked at the two as they took in what he said

The room was dead quiet Zofia looked to the floor. Ela looked away. Both walked out of the room quietly not making a sound going their separate ways. Mitchell let out a half smile as he knew he got to them both. Everyone in the room slowly walked closer.

"That was dangerous I thought they were going to throw you out the damn window." Gilles spoke.

"I have defused IED's I was pretty sure I could handle an argument" Mitchell let out a small smile

"Well add him to the list of diffusers" Jordan spoke looking at is cards from the game of poker he was playing with Elias and Mark. He had the Ace of spades and the King of spades.

Mike came down to the rec room and he scanned the room. "Well nobody is dead so I guess everything is ok"

"Yeah I took care of it" Mitchell smiled and disappeared into the base

Mike had surprised expression on his face. Everyone was expecting him to say something but he stood there speechless. "Go back to what you were doing" he spoke in a baffled tone as no one except Vincente, him, and Six could keep them from fighting. _"Damn that kid is good. I wish I wasn't such a dick to him at first. This must be how he pulls everyone in to liking him" Mike spoke to himself._

 **1940 hours Hereford**

Tina was putting on light amounts of makeup. Sebastian was in the room as well, he was bored and wanted someone to talk to. He couldn't help but smile at Tina as it had been a while since he had seen her like this. He couldn't help but let out a stifled laugh. Tina looked at him.

"What?" she looked at him

"I haven't seen you put makeup on in a long time" He chuckled

She blushed lightly "well I want to make a good impression"

"Are you nervous?" he smirked

"A little"

"Just be yourself and stay calm" he looked at her with a smile

"I'll try, I need to get out there I will see you soon Seb." She smiled and left the room

 **2000 hours Hereford**

Mitchell made his way out to the motor pool. He was wearing a dark blue pair of jeans. With biker boots. He had a black army t shirt on with an olive green under armor hoodie with a camo ball cap. It was still raining and the air was cool. He smiled and he walked into the motor pool. He scanned the area he saw Tina next to a generic black Audi. She was dressed similarly to him except she had her beanie and her Nike trainers, and her hoodie was light blue like the backdrop to her operator icon. She smiled when she saw him.

"You weren't late" her smile grew "your outfit suits you" _"It also brings out his eyes gosh he is so handsome" she subtly bit her lip looking at him_

He smiled "I can say the same for you, where are we going?"

"There is a nice little restaurant on the other side of town that I thought would be nice for a first date." She smiled

Mitchell walked over to the passenger seat and he put his hands up as if there was a steering wheel in front of him. He smiled and sighed Tina giggled.

"We are in England doofus"

"I'm used to driving American standard" he smiled

They started their trek. The roads were packed what should have taken 30 minutes took an hour. They arrived at a small brick building the tables were candle lit but there was other lighting in building although it was fairly dim. It had hardwood flooring. It gave off a homey feeling. They walked in and the air was filled with everything from pasta's to fish being fried. The hostess smiled. Her gaze lingered on Mitchell for a little longer than what Tina would have cared for.

"How many?" she asked her accent was strong

"Two" Tina replied

"Ok, follow me" the hostess grabbed two menus

Mitchell took off his hat and clipped it to his belt loop. The bill of the hat clacked against his phone as he walked. They were seated at a booth next to a window. Tina took off her beanie and laid it on the table next to her she smiled. Mitchell was nervous he had no idea what to talk about. Tina was nervous as well she didn't want to talk about snooping around in his room as she wasn't sure how he would react. They both stared at their menus quietly trying to find a subject to talk about.

"I don't know about you but I'm nervous as shit" Mitchell smiled as he broke the ice

"I thought I was the only one nervous" she let out a sigh of relief

Mitchell chuckled "no, no, no you are not."

The waiter came by "hello I'm Mark I will be your waiter, what can I get you to drink?"

"Water" Mitchell looked to Tina

"Coke if you have it" Tina looked at the waiter

"Alright I'll be back in a few" Mark smiled and disappeared to the back

"What are you going to get?" Tina asked

"I think I'm going to go for some Cod and chips what about you?" he looked at her

"I don't know maybe the B.L.T"

"Man I would still kill for my mom's deer burgers." He smiled

"Oh yeah?" she looked at him

"Oh my gosh it's like heaven in a sandwich especially if she puts her hot sauce on it" Mitchell smirked thinking about one of those burgers.

"Does your mom cook a lot?" she asked

"Yes she does and she is damn good at, it when I get back from home I will put on at least ten to fifteen pounds just damn her food is good"

"I saw the picture of your parents in your dorm does your mom have Native American in her blood?" Tina asked curiously

"Yes she does she has Cherokee in her she speaks the language as well. My dad is your generic white guy" Mitchell smiled at his slightly racist comment "What about your family?" he asked

"Your typical Chinese parents always speaking of honor and education. They westernized on some traditions so it makes life a little easier. My dad always asks if I found a guy yet and if I did where does he work and where is he from, does he have a college degree. Things like that" Tina smiled

"Well that might be an issue seeing as I only have a high school diploma" Mitchell let out a huff of amusement

"Really?"

"Really, after I graduated me and Fletcher took a year and traveled around the States and we visited all 50 states. Man that was a lot of fun." Mitchell smiled reminiscing about the trip and the stupid things they did.

Tina blushed as she remembered that she went through a lot of those pictures she slightly cowered. Mitchell knew that she was the one that went through his pictures and he also picked up on her cowering down in her seat.

"But after that me and Fletcher took a month break from travelling and then we joined the Army we didn't pursue a college education either and well one thing led to another and we ended up here. The other day I noticed that someone went through my pictures and I can't figure out who it was you wouldn't know who that was would you?" He kept himself from smiling

She blushed harder and cowered down more "I..it was me" she spoke softly expecting to get chastised.

Mitchell just started laughing and he had a huge smile plastered on his face "Man if you could have seen the look on your face."

She smiled and softly kicked his shin with her face still red "you jerk"

Mitchell smiled "I don't mind that you go through my stuff I wish you would've asked first but its ok"

The waiter returned with their drinks. "What can I get you two?"

"I will have your fish and chips" Mitchell folded his menu and he passed it off to the waiter

"What can I get you ma'am?"

"I will have your BLT with a fruit bowl" Tina passed her menu back

"Alright I will be back shortly" Mark smiled and walked off

Tina was curious about his past love life. "What were your past girlfriends like?"

Mitchell sighed and he looked out the window and he looked back at her "Most of them I thought I could trust but they were all hoes as I would treat them with respect and take them on nice dates and give them all the attention I could give them when I was home. Then I would leave for a few weeks and send letters home. I would get back home and I would find them on another guy's dick and I almost killed the guy a couple of times. I quit dating until I decided I was ready. That's what happened with me about you?" he took a sip of his water

"I had the same thing during college and military school they were cheap ass guys would fuck anything with an ass and jeans. My problem is that I would fall in love with them and I would forgive them for it but they kept doing it and I would break it off eventually but I gave up dating for a long time then I tried it with Sebastian. Dear god that was a disaster, he was loyal but we would always disagree on things and so many other issues." She chuckled and shook her head thinking about her romantic engagement with her friend.

"I'm guessing that was mutual" Mitchell smirked

"That was definitely mutual" She let out a slight giggle that made his heart flutter

They went quiet for a few minutes and Mitchell got lost in her eyes again a smile crept up on his face. She just smiled at him and she had a light blush come over her face.

"What are you staring at Mitchell?" she teased

"A beautiful woman that's what I'm staring at" He smiled

She blushed hard with a smile still on her face. Sure guys called her that before but when he said it she could tell he meant it and the statement was genuine.

"What are you looking at Tina?" Mitchell asked just to see what she would say

"I don't know yet I'm still trying to figure it out" She giggled playfully.

Mitchell tried to keep from smiling as he knew she was being a dick. She just smiled big at him. He shook his head.

"That wasn't very nice" he responded with a smile

"I know but it's funny and you know it to" she kept smiling

"Ok it was funny, but you remember that later I will get you back." He smirked

Mark came back with their food they both thanked him and they ate their meals keeping up their small talk and a variety of topics they both were enjoying it. Mitchell had a smile on his face the whole time she did as well. She just loved his smile and his body but that was a whole other animal. They were having fun even though they were just talking. They both would stop talking every so often and admire each other. Tina ended up having to pay for the meal as Mitchell only had American bills and they were still damp from Meghan yanking him into the pool. Tina didn't mind. They made their way back to the base and she parked the car back in the motor pool. It was almost 10:30 it turned into a two hour date and they loved every minute of it. They got out of the car and Tina looked around and she saw no one was around and she grabbed Mitchell's shoulder she was blushing wildly and she pulled him down into a deep and fiery kiss. She jumped up and wrapped her legs around him as they kissed Mitchell held on to her and he walked her into the car for support the kiss lasted for at least five minutes. They broke apart with a smile.

"I know we didn't go dancing or anything like that but I had fun Mitchell" Tina smiled with her arms around his neck and her legs wrapped around his waist.

"I had fun as well I just love being around you especially when you act like this" He smirked

She blushed hard with a smile and playfully slapped his face. He smiled and they shared one last kiss before they walked back into the base. Harding was heading to the gym when he saw them enter he had a genuine smile looking at the couple. Tina stole another kiss from Mitchell before she went to her dorm with a large smile on her face. Mitchell walked over to Harding.

"I'm glad that you found someone little brother" Harding smiled

"Man she is great, just easy to talk to and gorgeous mind you. Man I really like her"

"Man the last time I saw you smile like that is when we made it home after our trip and you saw your mom and dad again." Harding looked at his best friend who was madly in love

Mitchell just smiled and walked off. Harding's smile faded as he trudged to the gym. _"That's one thing you will never experience again love or even know the touch of a woman. You are a ghost a killing machine that is your sole purpose on this earth to kill. You are always lost you don't and you will never know the way back to the light." His negative side bellowed_

 **A/N: I'm sorry that their date wasn't as romantic as some may have hoped but the next time I put these two together It will be romantic. Again I'm sorry about that. I hope you enjoyed the Chapter anyway. Don't be afraid to leave a review.**


	14. Chapter 14: Home Bound

**A/N: Hey everybody I want to thank everyone who is reading this story as I greatly appreciate it, I love at how supportive you are in the reviews and in viewership. T** **his was another fun chapter to write as it sets up later chapters and I think those of you who are hardcore Ubisoft Fans will enjoy what I'm planning. This chapter is still a slower paced one just by what all is going on in it. I will have action in one of chapters coming up here soon please be patient. I can't wait to do the chapters when they act on the plan. I will advise you now the next few chapters will be slow as it has more of a story based around the operators who went home for the fourth of July. I hope you all enjoy. Don't be afraid to leave a review or PM me and let me know if I missed any errors. Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF UBISOFTS PROPERTY OR TITLES I ONLY OWN THE O.C'S**

 _ **Chapter 14: Home Bound**_

 **White mask Headquarters**

 **Time unknown location unknown**

Donny, Keegan, and John were sitting in their quarters which was a small living room with bunks in the rear. They were sitting on the sofa. Keegan was reading a book on Norse mythology. Donny was watching an older football game between the Packer and the Vikings. John was looking over some the Intel he managed to scrape out of Langley. There was a snowstorm going on outside of the mountain base. The wind howled as it traveled through some of the windows. Luckily the furnace kept the base warm. John was sifting through the Intel and he came across the raid on the Spanish club. He smiled when he saw Harding and Mitchell he broadcasted it to the TV over Donny's football game.

"Hey I was watching that old man" Donny spoke with some anger

"Tell me what you see" John spoke calmly as he gestured to the TV

"I see a raid at the club in Spain what's the big deal?" he asked annoyed

"Fletcher and Packston are there" Keegan looked away from his book

"You got it kid, and look at who they pulled out of the fire" John spoke smugly

"Well if it isn't Mister Lynch" Donny spoke with malice "We should have killed that fucker a long time ago" He continued on

"He was the one who set us up in Vegas and the Hell Jumpers in Libya, right?" Keegan inquired

"Yes he was. He is in Rainbow's possession now. We can't touch him until he is set free" John spoke

They started to devise a plan on how to kill Lynch without being noticed by Harding or Mitchell. It would be too difficult to walk into the Rainbow headquarters and just shoot the bastard. A mask that became a good friend of John stopped in.

"The Boss wants to see the three of you" He spoke

They all let out agitated sighs. They didn't like the white masks and they were just milking them for resources and after they completed their mission they would kill the leader of the masks and turn the masks against each other. The walked down the corridor and arrived at his office Keegan knocked on the door. The door opened without a response and a no one turned the door knob. They stepped in to see a large man with tattoo's all over his face they all knew who it was. El Jefe.

"Hello Gentlemen I would like to introduce you to the leader of the world's biggest cartel. El Sueno" The white mask leader smiled

"Hello" was all that Sueno replied with

"What is this about?" John asked

"Seeing as we broke Sueno out of prison he has made a deal with us and he wants us to assist with transporting and security of the Santa Blanca goods and he will give us a nice chunk of change. He also wants you three to train some of his Sicario's so they can operate just as good as you three."

"That takes years to accomplish." Keegan chimed in

"If I remember correctly the youngest person in your old unit was 24 and you were twenty nine there yourself Thompson so it shouldn't take you that long and our white masks are going to help you three and they will be a part of the Santa Blanca cartel as they will assist with production, transport, and security."

Keegan stayed quiet _"Great now the Santa Blanca cartel is assisting. This is going to allow large amounts of money and even more worldwide operations. Fuck this is bad. I really wish we wouldn't have joined these fuckers in the first place. I hope that he doesn't know about Fletcher and Packston being with Rainbow" He spoke in his head_

Sueno stood up and faced the three men he had a smile on his face "What do you say gentlemen?"

John looked to the giant "We will do it"

The white mask leader had a huge and evil smile on his face. "Pleasure doing business with you sir" he shook hands with Sueno

"Same to you Senor Taylor" Sueno walked out of the office and to his own private chopper that would take him to an airstrip so he could return to Bolivia.

The three left the office, Donny went to go get something to eat. Keegan pulled John off to a secluded area.

"John this is bad we need to make a power play and get out of this right now if the White masks and the Santa Blanca cartel join forces the world will be in some serious shit and we both know it" Keegan had a worried tone

"Look Keegan I know this is bad but we have to ride this out until we are in the opportune spot to make something happen. Remember why we are doing this. We are going to free the people of this world from the corruption in all of the world governments and to destroy intelligence communities in the world. We will make sure that we come out on top" John gave a reassuring smile and walked back to their quarters.

Keegan stood there and thought for a minute. _"We are doing this for the better of the world and hell we are the most effective team there is in this world we can stop anything. We can cause both organizations to collapse with little to no effort" His optimism stepped in_

His attitude change dramatically as he walked back to their quarters as he wanted to finish his book.

 **July 1, 2018**

 **0200 hours Hereford**

All of the American operators that were going home for the fourth of July were getting their bags packed. Eliza was in Jordan's room trying not to fall asleep as he packed his bags. He had a black led zeppelin t shirt with jeans and work boots on.

"Eliza it's ok if you sleep it won't bother me" Jordan softly smiled and gave her a kiss on her forehead

"I will after I say good bye to you" Her voice was raspy and weak

He brushed her hair out of her face with a smile. She smiled at him and she bear hugged him she was only in her bra and panties and the room was cold.

"You are warm" She spoke softly and she snuggled up to him

"I thought you said I was hot did I become less attractive over night?" Jordan asked playfully

She smiled "Yes, Yes you did"

He chuckled lightly and he gave her a deep passionate kiss. Their tongues fought for dominance but he ensured that he won. They broke apart and smiled at each other.

"I'm going to miss you Jordan" she hugged him as hard as she could

"I'm going to miss you too Eliza" he hugged her back

They stayed like that for a few minutes just holding each other. They broke a part and gave each other one last kiss.

"Bye Jordan, I love you" Eliza smiled sleepily

"Goodbye Eliza, I love you too" He smiled and walked out the door with his duffle bag

Eliza wrapped herself up in the blanket before she went back to sleep. Jordan was walking to the Rec room and he heard someone cussing and talking in a hushed and agitated tone.

"What the fuck do you mean he escaped?"

Jordan peered into the room it was Harding on the phone he was speaking softly trying not to wake anyone. He had his leather jacket on the sofa next to him with his duffle bag under the jacket. He had on a deep grey Chevy t shirt with jeans and grey tennis shoes.

"God mother fucking damn it" He spoke angrily into the phone.

"What's going on?" Jordan asked

Harding held up his finger telling Jordan to wait. Harding was on the phone with Nomad as they were talking about Sueno's escape.

"Do you know who sprung him?" Harding asked

"There are rumors going around that it was the White Masks the sprung him loose and if that's the case then we are in some deep shit as they will form a contract of some sort" Nomad spoke as his usual calm self

"Well send me all the intel you got and when I get back from vacation I will try and take care of it, Damn it." Harding spoke with anger

"Vacation?" Nomad asked

"Yeah a forced Sabbatical, I knew some bullshit would come up like this." Harding let out an agitate sigh

Nomad chuckled

"When I get a chance I will try and get to Bolivia and give you a hand this time we are to Ice that son of a bitch and I mean it." Harding had all kinds of agitation in his voice

"Alright well me and my team will be waiting for you, enjoy your vacation" Nomad let out a small chuckle

"Yep, talk to you later" Harding hung up

He took a deep breath trying to relax he was really worked up.

"What's going on?" Jordan asked

"Classified information" Harding spoke with anger he tightly clenched fists his knuckles were white

"Ok" was all that Jordan said he spoke somewhat nervously and skeptically

Mitchell was still packing his bags Tina was in his room helping him pack. She was going to drive everyone to the airport. She had a smile on her face.

"What are you smiling about?" Mitchell smiled

"Nothing just being around you" She smiled at him as he put a few t shirts in his bag

Mitchell smiled as he grabbed a few pairs of boxers and he put them in his bag. Tina blushed thinking about how he would look in them and remembering the day she saw his morning wood.

"Why are you blushing?" Mitchell teased

"No reason" She spoke softly

"Were you picturing me naked?" He smirked

She blushed harder and a guilty smile crept up on her face. Mitchell chuckled softly as he finished up with his bag. He smiled at her and he gave her a kiss. They went down stairs to see Harding and Jordan. Mitchell could tell something was bothering Harding just by his facial expression.

"You fucking son of a bitch mother fucking damn it" Harding spoke quietly. "Fuck you Sueno Fuck you."

Mitchell heard his whisper and he walked up to him.

"Hey what's going on?" Mitchell whispered

"Fucking Sueno escaped and Nomad said that there are rumors that white masks did it." Harding spoke in an agitated and hushed tone

"Fucking great, just great" Mitchell sighed and ran his fingers through his hair

"That's what I said, when we get back we will have to get to Bolivia and give him a hand in icing that bastard. I can think of two other people that would be willing to help." Harding looked Mitchell in the eyes.

"They'd be very excited" Mitchell smiled softly and nodded

Meghan was the last one she looked tired. She had on yoga pants with a red t shirt and tennis shoes. She smiled at everyone. "Are we all here?" she asked with a yawn

"Yep" Jordan smiled

They all piled into the van Mitchell rode shotgun with Tina. Harding sat in the second row of seats on the driver's side Jordan sat in the second row passenger side. Meghan sprawled out on the back seat drifting in and out of sleep. Harding was looking out the window as they travelled watching the street lights go by. He still wasn't thrilled that he had to go state side but he was even more upset that El Sueno was out of prison. He stared out the window he could hear a faint and very distinct sound out of nowhere two cars blew by the one was a blacked out Nissan 370z the other was a 1970 Ford Escort mk.1. His heart fluttered as he thought about his time racing on the open road a smile grew on his face. Mitchell was thinking about how El Sueno escaped and what that monster was now capable of with the white masks backing up the cartel.

"What's a matter Mitch?" Tina asked softly

"Nothing just thinking about the dreadful plane ride" He smiled playing it off

She smiled "well it won't be that bad let's hope that you get a good movie to keep you distracted"

"I hope so" He smiled at her and he started studying her face.

He looked at every detail he adored her. Jordan was watching them and he shook his head. He then thought of Eliza and he already missed her he was happy that he was going to see his parents but he wished that Eliza was with him. Meghan was crashed out on the back seat. It was a short drive to the airport as the roads were empty. They arrived at the airport and the parking lot had cars in it but not many. Tina pulled the van around to the entry doors Jordan was the first one out Harding looked back to see Meghan sleeping he reached back shook her softly.

"Hey you need to get up" He spoke softly

She sat up she didn't look happy that she was woke up from her sleep and she grabbed her bags and got out Harding followed behind her. Mitchell gave Tina a kiss and a hug. Before they all walked into the airport together. Tina left to get back to base. They went through security and their bags being checked. They were about to part ways Jordan had already boarded his plane. Harding and Mitchell gave a brotherly hug.

"Tell them I said hi and that I'm doing fine and I don't have girlfriend" Harding gave a smile

"Alright man, you try and relax and have some fun" Mitchell smiled back

"Alright man I'll try" Harding nodded

They parted ways and went to their respective terminals. Harding and Meghan went to their plane and they sat next to each other he threw his duffle bag in the compartment above their seats. Meghan fell asleep almost instantly as she wasn't used to waking up that early in the morning. Harding was restless and he really wanted to take something a part just to put back together again. He couldn't stop thinking about El Sueno. He buckled Meghan into her seat so she wouldn't have to be woke up again. He buckled himself in and the plane took off she was still out cold and he was twirling a pen in his fingers to keep himself distracted. He was tired but he didn't want to sleep as he was afraid of having an episode on the plane and he didn't want to cause panic so he put his earbuds in and he started listening to music on his phone and the first song to come on was _Life is a highway_ by Rascal Flatts. The people in seats behind them were rather obnoxious he really wanted to turn around and beat the ever living shit out of them as they were being loud and softly kicking the back of his seat. They weren't doing it on purpose but it infuriated him. Meghan was sleeping like a rock the only way that she would have been woke up is if the plane crashed.

Mitchell had most of his section to himself. One of the stewardesses sat with him and they started to talk as they went to high school together. Tina would have killed Mitchell if she saw this or heard about it. They talked and talked and about where they were and where they have been and how they got there. Jordan's flight was pretty much the same except he was constantly looking out the window and thinking about his lover and at how much he missed her. He really wanted her to come with him but there was nothing he could have done to change that. He sat there looking out the window in silence thinking about her. He then thought about being home in the old neighborhood wondering how many of his friends were still close by. A smile crept up on his face

 **0800 hours Hereford**

Aria had got up for the morning she went down to the mess hall to get some breakfast and she got a breakfast burrito and sat down at a table she felt her phone go off and she looked at it. It was a text from one of her old intelligence friends in the GIS. It was a link and her eye brows furrowed and she opened the text and the link she had to sign into the GIS secure servers and it was a report from Bolivia it said the Sueno had escaped. She had texted back

" _Is this true? Cross check with BOPE in south America"_

" _This is true confirmed by an unknown source from Bolivia there are rumors that the white masks are involved"_

" _Are there any other rumors going around?" she asked_

" _Yeah it's not good some sources are saying that SB_ (Santa Blanca) _sicario's are working with the white masks and they are transporting coke and people all over the world, including to a few of your old friends here in Italy"_

" _Thanks for the tip I will do what I can to help with the threat."_

" _Np, stay safe"_

She let out a frustrated sigh and slammed her fist down on the table. "Damn it" she spoke with hushed anger

Adriano sat down next to her "What's a matter?" he asked

She slid her phone across the table to him he read it all "Fuck that's not good" he responded

"No it's not what do you think we should do I have my doubts six will let us go to Bolivia or Italy just on a hunch" she looked at him

"We need to gather all of the intelligence we can and send it to the GIS that's about all we are going to be able to do" he looked at her and gave his cheeky smile

 **0900 hours New York City**

The dollar flu had been eradicated a year ago all the factions were gone from the city. The dead had to be cremated for sanitization reasons. There was a massive memorial for those who died because of the dollar flu and for those who were able to fight back the factions for control of the city. The Dark Zone was no more. All of the rouge agents had been hunted down and exterminated aside from Aron Keener and the agents who were playing dead. They city was bustling once again filled people and travelers. It honestly looked like nothing had happened as the city was reunited the post office had a statue built outside of it for the members of the JTF. In an apartment complex a few blocks down in Chelsea. A first wave division agent was walking down the street with a smile he was happy to see the city was full of people again and they were helping each other and the city was alive. His name Cadmen Rockwell. Former PMC with a few degrees in criminology, electrical engineering, and a doctorates. After the quarantine was lifted he was the happiest man on Earth even though he lost his wife and kid during the quarantine he was still happy. The streets no longer smelled of rotting corpses and he wasn't being shot at every day. He walked towards the post office munching on a fresh apple with a smile on his face. He said hello to everyone he passed. His watch went off he stepped into an alley way so he no one could identify him as an agent.

"What is it ISAC?" he asked

"Incoming Files Detected Downloading now"

Cadman sat there for a few minutes and he started to read the files. He could feel rage build inside of him reading over the reports. There was a lot of the Cartel warriors in the Riker's gang. Before he was activated he lived in the city and a couple of those sicario's came to his apartment and they raped and killed his wife in front of him and they shot his boy in front of him as well. After he was activated he killed every Riker inmate he could. He knew it was Sueno's doing and he would have went to Bolivia had he not be occupied with cleaning up NYC. By the time the quarantine was lifted Ghost Recon had already locked Sueno up and dismantled a lot of the Cartel so he let his anger go and enjoy life. But this angered him worse than anything else in the world.

"ISAC I need you to cross reference everything with the other intelligence communities across the globe" He spoke with anger in his voice

"Affirmative Agent ETA 120 hours"

"I will get you this time Sueno" He spoke out of hate

He walked back on to the street and went back to his apartment he locked the door and he went into his bedroom and he opened his cache and he started sorted his gear he looked at his LVOA-C and he could almost remember every kill he earned with it. He started to clean every weapon and every piece of gear he had.

 **1000 hours Hereford**

Vincente was in his dorm well actually it was his and Taina's but she generally found another place to sleep or he was too busy to be bothered to get sleep. They shared a dorm mainly so he could keep an eye on her. He was at his desk scrolling through his laptop. Despite his advanced age he knew his way around an operating system and Grace helped him with more advanced issues. Anyway he was just kind of surfing the web he got an email. He opened it and in Portuguese it was a report from Bolivia. He read it, it was a report from an old friend in BOPE. His jaw dropped and his eye widened. It was explaining that Sueno escaped. He knew this was bad news. Taina walked in the room she saw the shocked expression on his face.

"What's up Vince?" she asked

"Just read it" he responded turning the laptop to her

She read over it and her fist clenched tightly. She was still upset with the cartel and the fact that they tortured her little brother. She wanted to cause more damage before she was pulled out of Bolivia. Vincente looked at her.

"I know you are still mad at the cartel but this time you don't need to go off the reservation like last time." He gave her a stern look

"I want to make them pay" she spoke with rage

"I know but you will have your chance in a legal way." He spoke in a commanding tone and she quickly backed off.

She let out a frustrated sigh and walked out of the room. Vincente was upset as he had lost too many friends to the cartel and a lot of law enforcement officers were also killed by the cartel.

 **1100 hours Dayton international Airport, Ohio**

Mitchell's plane had just landed. He grabbed his duffel bag out of the compartment above his seat and he said goodbye to the Stewardess. He enjoyed their talk as it had been a while since he had talked to someone from high school that was Fletcher. He walked to the escalators and he saw his adoptive dad and he smiled. They got to the bottom and they walked up and shared a hug.

"You look great bud" His dad smiled

"As do you" Mitchell replied with a smile

"I didn't tell your mom that you were coming home so you can surprise her"

"Well let's go home then because I am starving and I really don't want to have anything else other than her cooking." He smiled

"Well then we shouldn't wait any longer." His father smirked

They walked out and to his dad's truck which was a 1960 Chevy C10 pickup in a white and turquois two tone. It was a ninety minute drive to their home. The landscape quickly went from a city to the open fields which had corn growing in most of it. Mitchell loved the countryside not just because he grew up there but because it quiet and nothing blocked the vision of the sky. It was already in the high seventies with a bit of humidity and it was only going to get warmer.

"Where do they have you stationed now?" His father asked

"They actually have me and Fletcher in the U.K now. The base is really nice much better than the one in Ramadi." Mitchell smiled

"The UK huh? The last time was there was for a meeting between other engineers in the industry. That was a long time ago." He smiled

"I can imagine how is everything at the plant?" Mitchell asked

"The usual same shit different day" he kept his smile

"I know what that's like." Mitchell replied

"How is Fletcher doing? It's been a while since I talked to him last." He looked to Mitchell for a second before looking back at the road.

Mitchell sighed softly "he is still the same person he was seven years ago kind of closed off and distant. He still doesn't have a girlfriend."

"I see"

They were silent most of the way home and they arrived at the house it was a nice two story home not counting the basement it was surrounded by a woods. There was a lot of acreage there was a pond in the back that Mitchell usually swims in if it's hot. There is also a pasture that is fenced in with a few horses. They pulled into the garage. Little did Mitchell know there was a surprise for him waiting inside. They got out his dad walked in first he made sure the coast was clear Mitchell quietly followed. He could smell his mom's deer burgers. His dad had him wait around a corner.

"Hey sweetie" He walked up behind his wife and gave her a kiss

"Hello dear" she smiled as she returned the kiss

"You will not believe who I found." He smiled

"Who did you find?" she looked at him

"How about your son" Mitchell smiled as he walked around the corner

She smiled and she gave him a hug as tight as she could. "My ᎤᏪᏥ" (son in Cherokee)

He hugged her back as hard as he could "ᎤᏂᏥ" (mother in Cherokee)

She looked at him to get look at his face and she just smiled brightly. There were two people sneaking out of the basement to the kitchen. He and his mom held each other for a few minutes. The man stood behind Mitchell his father was trying his hardest not to laugh.

"So you aren't going to say hi to your friend?" his deep burly voice punched through the air

Mitchell stood straight up and turned around he had to look up at the giant "How's the weather up there?" Mitchell chuckled

"Really that's what you are going to do to me right now?" Jack chuckled

They shook hands a woman about the same height of Mitchell peeked out from behind the giant.

"This must be your fiancé" Mitchell smiled

"Yes this is Clair. Clair this is Mitchell he is one of the few that I served with." Jack spoke with joy

"Hi Mitchell" she shook hands with him. She was in her thirties. She had long blonde hair with grey eyes with a really fit physique. Her voice could have melted butter.

Mitchell's mom smiled "lunch is about ready so sit down and get ready."

They all sat at the bar in the kitchen and Mitchell looked to his father. "You are one scheming weasel aren't you?" Mitchell joked

His dad just gave a devious grin. Mitchell shook his head at his father.

 **1300 hours Plano, Texas**

Jordan had arrived at the airport he had to get a rental. His dad was busy trying to defend his client in court. His mother was swamped with people trying to get their financials sorted out as she was an accountant. He had rented an F-150. He drove to home and he unlocked the door and smiled as the A/C was running and it was boiling hot outside. He smiled as he looked at all the pictures on the wall from their family trips. He went to the kitchen to get something to eat he saw a sticky note on the fridge and it read _"Sorry we couldn't be home when you got there dear we are both very busy we look forward to seeing you again we couldn't stop talking about you coming home. Love mom"_ there was a little heart drawn next to the last statement he smiled big reading it.

"Workaholics as usual" He shook his head with a smile

He made himself a ham and cheese sandwich he wasted no time making himself comfortable as he turned on the TV and he sat on the sofa as he ate. He felt relaxed. He felt his phone go off and he looked at it. It was Eliza. The text read _"I miss you already I hope you are enjoying your time home and you better tell your parents about me or so help me god. (Winking emoji) I love babe be safe"_ He just smiled as he missed her as well and he was happy that she sent him a text. After he finished his sandwich he ended up falling asleep on the couch as the jet lag finally hit him.

 **1400 hours Oceanside, California**

Meghan's parents were also busy as her dad was still beating new recruits into shape. Her mom was busy at the office. So she was driving her and Harding home. Harding was crashed out on the passenger side she thought it was cute. She thought he looked peaceful and not weighed down by his past or his emotions. She brushed his hair out of his face softly as they sat in traffic. He shifted softly as he put his head more on the window for support. The interstate was packed. She smiled at him. He started to shift and spasm some his breathing became heavy. She looked at him with some fear as she got as far over as she could in her seat. She could tell he was having an episode as his right finger looked as if he was pulling a trigger and his right shoulder looked as if it was absorbing the kick of a rifle. She nudge him.

"Fletcher wake up" she spoke with some fear

He didn't wake up he continued to fight in his nightmare.

"Fletcher stop you need to wake up" She hit his shoulder a little harder

He kept going "contact to the north" he spoke in his sleep "contact" he continued

She hit his face and his eyes opened up wide and he punched the dashboard hard he didn't break anything luckily but he dislocated his finger.

"Fuck" he spoke as he looked at his hand and snapped his finger back into place

He looked at Meghan who had a fearful look on her face. He looked down at his feet in shame and he didn't say a word. She internally sighed and shifted back in her seat as she looked at him worried, for him. There was silence for a few minutes.

"A…are you ok?" she asked as she was nervous on what to say

"Yeah I'll be fine" he spoke at an almost inaudible tone

A few more minutes passed

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked

He sat there and considered it for a minute. "I'd rather not" he looked at her

"Ok, if you ever feel the need to talk about something don't be afraid to" She looked at him

He nodded and looked at the ocean a smile came over his face as he remembers going to the beach with Mitchell during their tour of America. He remembered how they would try and pick up girls in tiny bikinis. He thought about some of the cheesy one liners they would say. He let out a small huff of amusement. She looked at him and he had a smile on his face and she smiled as well she didn't want to ask as she thought it might upset him. They were on the road for quite a while they finally got into a suburban area the pulled up to an older three story house they got out and they both stretched their bones snapping and cracking at the relief of pressure. He grabbed his duffle bag and they walked into the house he was rather astonished as the house was spotless.

"The guest bedroom is on the second floor if you want to check it out and set your stuff down" Meghan smiled as she went up the stairs

He investigated the house for a few minutes as there many pictures from Meghan's swim meets and family trips. He smiled softly as her entire family looked happy. His smile faded as he thought about his parents. Before the negative thoughts consumed his mind he went to the second floor and he opened the door and looked in the bed was massive in his opinion he set his duffle bag down on the floor close to the bed. He walked out again not wanting to lay down or sit as he had sat for long enough. Examined the house walking down halls just admiring the older architecture of the house. He went to the third floor to see Meghan's room. There were medals and trophies all over the walls. He walked closer to investigate Meghan was putting her clothes in the dresser. She couldn't even tell he was in the room.

"They weren't kidding when they said you were Olympic bound did they?" He smiled

She jumped and quickly turned around "You are worse than Taina when you sneak around" she smirked

"I wasn't sneaking I was just admiring the house." He smiled

She smiled at him "Yeah I was a really good swimmer until the accident when my arm was broke and that killed my swimming career."

The stared at eachother for a few minutes "I'm sorry if I seem quiet or distant. It's just I haven't been a civilian in a long time and this is going to be all new for me for the most part. I am sorry that I scared you in the car I don't try and do that on purpose just there is nothing I can do about it." He looked to the floor and she smiled at him.

"Fletcher I know this is new to you and that you don't have the episodes on purpose. Look I will be close by and if you ever feel uncomfortable just let me know and I will make an exit for you so you can get away. If you ever feel the need to talk to someone I'm not that far away. I want you to try and relax and have some fun ok?" She spoke in a reassuring tone and she gave a heartwarming smile.

He smiled at her "Thank you Meghan I do appreciate it. I'm going to lay down for a bit if your parents arrive while I'm still sleeping just knock on the door and I will wake up. Just fare warning don't try and shake me awake as it turns out badly for the person who wakes me. Again thank you Meghan" He walked back to the bedroom and crashed out immediately.

She looked at her phone and she had a text from Mitchell. _"Hey I don't know if your flight has landed but I was just wondering how he was doing"_

" _He is doing fine he had a small episode in the car but that's been it so far he is resting now my parents haven't met him yet as they are still working. He is doing fine I will let you know if anything changes."_

She smiled as she couldn't wait to see her parents again. She ended up fall asleep again as she found her bed very comfortable.


	15. Chapter 15: Parents

**A/N: Hey guys and gals, I'm sorry for taking so long with this chapter but things were a little crazy last week. I don't know when I will have the next chapter out as I have a lot due this week and the next few weeks are going to be busy for me with college so please be patient and keep that in mind as it maybe a few weeks before I get to the next chapter. I noticed I made a very large mistake with a car that Fletcher used to drive. I only knew it as the Ford Interceptor it is actually a 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT I have already went back and made the changes in previous chapters. I also wanted to note that Keegan used fifty caliber sniper rifle on the night he 'died' that wasn't his main rifle. His main rifle is in this chapter. One other thing I wasn't sure if it was clear or not is when Fletcher gets in the internal arguments those are with himself not another person. Yes the chapter is slow because again it's focusing on the operators who went home for the fourth. I'm sorry for the lame chapter name but it suited this chapter the best. Enough of my rambling. Enjoy the chapter and don't be afraid to leave a review or PM let me know if I missed any mistakes. Enjoy!**

 _ **Chapter 15: Parents**_

 **July 1, 2018**

 **Bolivia 1600 hours**

"ENEMY CONTACT FRONT!" Nomad yelled

"I GOT 'EM" Midas fired his SR-635

The team was surrounded by cartel forces. The rebels were trying to get on site and assist. They were hunkered down in a cartel base. The Sicario's were everywhere.

"BOWMAN WE ARE PINNED DOWN WE NEED IMMEDIATE SUPPORT" Nomad yelled into the radio as the gun fire was deafening

"Rebels are en route to assist you are going to have to hold out a little longer." She replied she was worried

"DAMN IT THEY NEED TO HURRY UP WE ARE GOING TO OVER RUN" Weaver shouted

They had been in a firefight for the past two hours. They still had quite a bit of ammunition left in their reserves but the enemy was relentless and hopped up on drugs so it took a few extra shots to take a target down.

"HOLT I NEED YOU TO WIRE UP A BOMB IF WE CAN'T HAVE THIS BASE THEN NIETHER CAN THEY" Nomad yelled

"I WILL GIVE YOU A NUKE BUT YOU NEED A TWENTY FIVE KILL STREAK FOR THAT" Holt chuckled as he fell back to start building a bomb

The team was fighting as hard as they could the sicario's backed off but they were quickly replaced with White Masks who in turn had more advance training and gun skill. Little did they know Anubis was watching the fight taking notes on the tactics as he never met the Ghosts or operated with them. He was on a ridge close by. He had his Remington MSR chambered in .338 lupa magnum in front of him with the bipod down. He was lying next to it watching the fight through his scope. Jester was with him as well watching through a pair of bino's.

"Just like old times right Keegan?" Donny smiled

"Just like the old days" Keegan let out a huff of amusement "Man these guys are good and DOD told us that we were the most effective delta team to exist." Keegan smirked as he watched through his rifle scope.

"Just another government lie brother" Donny smiled as he watched the ensuing battle

They were listening in on the radio traffic. They were rather impressed with how the Ghosts were calm and their overall effectiveness. Reaper team was still rather effective but the ghosts just barely edged them out. After a few minutes Holt had wired all of the cars in the area to detonate which would be big enough to take down the buildings and everything in it.

"BOMB IS READY AWAITING YOUR ORDERS" Holt yelled into the radio

"EVERYONE FALL BACK OUTSIDE OF THE WALLS AND WE DROP THE BASE ON THEM" Nomad yelled back

The ghosts fell back they got outside of the walls there were still sicario's fighting in the back but they were no match for the ghosts. They got to a hill that overlooked the base Nomad looked to Holt.

"Holt blow it"

Holt triggered the detonator and the build collapsed on the White Masks and the sicarios.

"Now that is a killer barbeque" Holt and Midas chuckled

They stole a car from the Cartel so they couldn't be identified as rebels or Americans. They returned to Itacua Echo the one safe region in Bolivia as it was the place where the Rebels had total control and the cartel would not try to invade. They walked into the safe house Bowman let out a sigh of relief. They all dropped their guns off to their sides as they sat down on the couches.

"Bowman we have a serious problem the Cartel is getting bolder and they are now reinforced by the White Masks. We need a bigger team than this I have two guys that will be able to get down here on the fifth but that's all I got." Nomad looked to her as he was trying to relax a little the adrenaline was still in his system

"Nomad I know this. JSOC isn't going to be able to get us more guys as they are occupied with other threats across the globe. Who are the two guys that you are going to be able to get?" She asked

"The Ghost and Dragon of Arabia" Nomad looked at her with a small smirk

"You are fucking kidding me? How do you know who those two are?" Bowman looked at him in shock

"I used to be on the same team with them until I got transferred to Ghost Recon" Nomad just kept his smirk

"Those two are undisciplined cowboys who don't follow the rules." Bowman shook her head and spoke in a degrading tone

"Yeah well Bowman that is what we need a couple of sporadic players who can dish out some serious pain they know me and if they don't play by your rules you can take it out on me." Nomad spoke in his calming tone

"Alright but if they Fuck up in any way it's on you. Until they arrive I want everyone to lay low and hold Itacua as this has to be our safe zone. Am I understood?" She looked at all of them

"Yes ma'am" They replied in unison.

 **1800 Hours Oceanside, California Castellano residence**

Meghan's parents had just got off the clock. Her dad got her, her favorite meal which was a supreme Chicago deep dish pizza he got two of them as he wasn't sure how much her friend would eat. He had a standard military buzz cut it was just a tad longer than a buzz, his hair is black. He was in his fifties but physically fit. He signs of ageing on his face his eyes were green. Her mom had blonde hair the exact same as Meghan's. She was also in her fifties her make up covered her ageing she looked younger than what she was but there was small amounts of ageing starting to show. She had blue eyes. She rushed home as fast as she could she didn't bother to get anything as she was excited to see her daughter again. They arrived at the same time. They shared a hug and a kiss before going inside the house. Harding heard the cars pull up and it woke him up he peered out the window to see the two. He wasn't all the way sure if they were her parents but he was pretty confident that they were. The entered the house Harding snuck to the stairwell and he peered down into the living room and they were speaking softly as they travelled to the kitchen. He snuck up into the living room without them noticing. Her father felt like he was being watched he turned to the doorway in the living room to see nothing.

"What's a matter Matthew?" His wife asked

"I feel like we are being watched" Matthew continued to look into the living room doorway making sure nothing would pop out

"I think you are being paranoid" His wife smiled and pulled him into a kiss

Harding stepped out from the corner he watched for minute and he spoke. "I take it that you are Meghan's parents." His cut the air like a knife

She jump nearly a mile high. Matthew quickly turned with a k bar knife in his hand.

"Who are you and what the fuck do you want?" His voice was demanding he wasn't about to take any bullshit

"Easy now, I'm Meghan's friend Harding Fletcher" Harding spoke calmly as he leaned against the door frame "I have my id and anything else if you want proof."

"Let me see your id" Matthew spoke

Harding took out his wallet and tossed it to him. Matthew sifted through the wallet and looked at all the forms of Id and compared his face to the pictures. His shoulders dropped as he relaxed a bit.

"Damn it son you gave me quite the scare please don't skulk around the house like that." Matthew smiled softly and tossed the wallet back to Fletcher.

"I'm sorry I scared you just had to make sure you weren't burglars or something like that." Fletcher gave a small smile

"Well let me introduce myself I'm Matthew Castellano Meghan's father and this is my wife Erin Castellano Meghan's mother" Matthew held out his hand (Erin Pronounced like Aron with a long A)

Harding shook it "it's a pleasure to meet you both again I'm sorry for scaring you"

"It's ok I guess we should have been ready for someone we didn't know to be in the house" Erin smiled she shook hands with Fletcher "Wow your hands are rough like old maple" she held her smile

"Well I work with my hands a lot ma'am" Fletcher kept his smile

"Where is Meghan?" she asked

"She is in her room sleeping it was a long flight" Harding smiled

Both her parents blew by him and they both rushed up to her room. They almost knocked him over. Erin softly pushed open the door. They walked in quietly as she was soundly asleep. Her mother smiled as she softly sat on the bed.

"Meeegggghaan, it's time to get up" Her mother spoke softly

Meghan rolled on her back and smiled as she let out a yawn and rubbed her eyes "Hi mom" she sat up and gave her mother a hug.

"Wow not even going to say hi to your father huh? I see how it is." Matthew smiled big

Meghan immediately got out of bed and she bear hugged her father "Hi dad" they both had huge smiles on their faces

"I brought home your favorite" He looked at her

"I know I can smell it and it smells delicious." She looked at him

They held each other for a few minutes before they broke a part. They went downstairs and she checked the guest bedroom and saw that Fletcher wasn't there.

"We already met your friend" Her mom smirked

"Oh ok" Meghan smiled as they went down stairs Harding was in the same spot that he was when they went to go get Meghan

"Well you two take a seat and we will get everything ready." Erin smiled

Harding sat next to Meghan. He felt out of place as they got plates and cups he wasn't used to this at all. He didn't show signs of discomfort. They sat down after passing plates around. They all grabbed a slab of pizza.

"So Fletcher what branch are you with?" Matthew asked

"I'm with the Army. Rangers specifically, sir" He legally isn't allowed to talk about "The Unit" (Delta Force)

Meghan looked at him with some confusion

"A Ranger huh? Where have you served?" he asked

"You name it and I have probably been there" Harding took a bite out of his pizza

"What do you specialize in?" he asked

"I'm a Field medic and a sharpshooter"

Matthew nodded as he ate. Erin smiled

"Where do you come from originally?" she asked

"I'm from Ohio" he smiled some

Meghan was quietly eating while she watched her parents interrogate Fletcher. Her mother beamed with excitement she liked meeting people from new regions or areas of the world.

"What's it like over there?" she asked with an almost giddy tone

"Fields, small towns, wooded areas, quiet, and country guys and gals" Harding smiled

"I will bet you get all kinds of girls over there especially with how handsome you are" Erin mainly said that to indirectly pick on Meghan.

Meghan face palmed "Mom really?"

Erin softly chuckled at her embarrassed daughter. Matthew chuckled as well. Harding just shook his head.

"What do you do in your spare time on base?" Erin asked

"Well generally I work on the Humvee's or I fix watches and things like that" He took another bite out of the pizza

"Do you like to work on cars or just Humvees?" Matthew asked

"You name it I probably have built it or worked on it. But I love working on anything with an engine and wheels." Harding smirked

"You know I have a 1970 Cougar Eliminator in the garage" Matthew spoke

"Oh here we go" Erin spoke in a playfully annoyed tone

"Oh yeah does it run?" Harding smiled

"No I'm still trying to figure it out I have been trying to restore it for a long time." He smiled

"I used to build and restore cars with my dad all the time if you want me to look at I can. Hell I would happily work on it as well." Harding just smiled

"What was your favorite care to restore?" Matthew smiled

"Uuuuhh I would have to say the 1970 Roadrunner or the 1972 Gran Torino Fastback."

"I was expecting a more common classic" Matthew smirked as he took a bite out of his pizza

"I don't like the cliché cars such as the '69 Charger. I prefer the less heard of cars. Like me and my dad built a 1973 Ford Falcon, '69 Camaro, A '56 ford F100, We also built a '57 Plymouth. We built a lot of cars. We built a couple of imports as well such as an '86 Corolla, a '93 RX-7 and a few others." Harding smiled "At one point we did try building a DeLorean but they stopped producing body parts for it so we ended up using the cassis to build a C1 Corvette."

"Man you guys must have been swimming in money to build all of those." Matthew spoke with excitement

"Actually we didn't have a lot of money me and dad would go to a scrap yard find a relic and restore it to its full capacity then sell it. The only cars that we kept was the '73 Falcon, '69 Camaro, and the '57 Plymouth. Everything else was sold to collectors or people who wanted a drag car." Harding smirked

"That's awesome if you every feel the need to look at it by all means take a look at it I'm not going to keep a seasoned mechanic away from my car." Matthew spoke with some excitement

Meghan smiled as Harding and her dad hit it off. She didn't know that Harding and his dad built cars so she was paying close attention. She looked at him she could see the excitement in his eyes talking about his ventures in restoring cars. It made her happy.

 **1900 hours Plano, Texas**

Jordan had woke up a few hours ago. His mom had just got home from her busy day his dad had to stay at a hotel as the trial was extended to the next day. Jordan made a quick steak dinner for himself and his parents. His mom sat at the table with him. She had a tired smile on her face. She had let her chestnut colored hair down to her shoulders. Her soft grey eyes had looked over her son's face as memories of him as a child flooded her mind. She was well into her fifties almost sixty. Her face was starting to show her age she didn't care if it showed or not just so long as she had her husband and son at her side she was happy.

"Hi Jordy"

"Hi mom, busy day at the office?" He asked looking at her

She sighed and chuckled softly "Yes it was, Thank you for cooking supper"

"No problem" He smiled

"So where do they have you stationed now?" she asked

"They have me in the U.K"

"That sounds nice" she spoke with light excitement as she ate

"It's a neat place although it's not here" He smiled big

"I'll bet there are all kinds of cute girls over there with accents" She gave a teasing smile

He chuckled lightly "They aren't the same as the ones here"

"Oh, come on there has to be at least one there that has caught your eye." She continued to tease her son

"Ok, there is one" Jordan smiled as the thought of Eliza popped in his head

"What's her name?" She just smiled

"Eliza" Jordan had a huge smile

"Tell me about her" His mom was always excited to hear about his girlfriends

"She is gorgeous. She can be aggressive at times, she is from Israel, she doesn't have an accent but sometimes she does speak Hebrew. You would love her mom. I have a hard time putting it into words at how great she is." Jordan got starry eyed as he looked to the ceiling talking about her

His mom chuckled "I'm glad that you found someone Jordy it makes me happy to see you in love with someone."

Jordan shook his head with a smile before going back to his steak

"Your father won't be joining us tonight as trial got extended to tomorrow. He told me to tell you that he loves you and he can't wait to see you."

Jordan showed some disappointment but he knew his dad would see him soon so he quickly brushed those feelings out of the way. He and his mom enjoyed their meal and his mom talking about all of the office gossip between co-workers and the usual bullshit that occurred through the day. Jordan honestly kind of missed hearing it. It used to annoy him in his younger years but it allowed his mom to vent and he started to enjoy it later and when he got accepted into Rainbow he missed hearing his mom talk about her day. He enjoyed every minute of hearing her vent.

"Well that's enough about me what exciting things have happened to you recently?" His mom asked

He let out a nervous huff of air "Well I got shot at and blew up"

His mom looked at him with some nervousness as she wanted to know how and why but she also didn't want to know. She had to know.

"How bad was it?" she asked

"It was bad the explosion launched me at least 100 yards and opened my chest. Luckily there was a field medic close by who saved my life. That was last month and I have been on the disabled list ever since and that is part of the reason I got to come home." Jordan looked at her

She hugged him tightly as she couldn't stand the thought of losing her child in combat. She wants him to live a long and healthy life and have family so she can have some grandchildren. She knew that Jordan did enjoy what he did and she wasn't about to stop him.

 **2000 hours New Hope, Ohio**

Mitchell and his family with Jack and Clair had enjoyed a rather nice family supper. His dad had to go to work as his shift started within thirty minutes. Mitchell, Jack, and Clair all sat on the sofa. She was all snuggled up next to her giant fiancé. Mitchell smiled and he then thought about Tina and how much she would love it out here.

"So Mitchell tell me about your lady friend" Jack smirked as Mitchell's mom got an excited look on her face

"You didn't tell me you had a girlfriend" His mom boasted

Mitchell burned a light red and smiled "We have only been on one date we aren't quiet there just yet"

"So you two finally found time to go on a date huh?" Jack smiled big

"Yes we did, it was nice. She is easy to talk to and just gorgeous" Mitchell smiled big

"Do you have a picture of her?" Clair asked

Mitchell sighed and pulled out his phone and he opened the gallery and went to a picture that he managed to snag of Tina on their first date. No she didn't know about it. He passed it to his mom as she was probably the most excited. His mom just smiled.

"She is beautiful Mitchell." His mom tossed the phone to Jack and Clair

"I didn't know you had a thing for Asians Mitch." Jack teased

Mitchell smiled "Jack I'm not afraid to steal a prosthetic from a cripple"

Jack just chuckled. Clair rolled her eyes and handed back his phone.

"She is gorgeous Mitchell" Clair smirked

"Hey I have been meaning to ask you. How is Fletcher doing?" Jack asked

Jack hadn't seen Fletcher since they got home from Libya.

"He's doing well" Was all that Mitchell said

"Who is Fletcher?" Clair asked

"He is the other guy who served with the Hell Jumpers. He is the one with the facial scar and black hair." He looked to her

"Oh" She still didn't know who he was

"Man I still think about that night we went to pick him up" Jack looked to Mitchell

"Yeah that was bad"

Everyone in the room got sombrous looks on their faces. Clair hadn't heard this story and she got a confused look on her face.

"What happened?" She asked

Mitchell swallowed hard "Well after the funeral and other services we came home. Jack stayed here for a while as he sold his house and he couldn't be alone because of his prosthetic. Anyway we were enjoying the fact that we were alive. We were here in the living room watching tv just relaxing and the phone went off and it was a good friend of mine who was a part of the local sheriff's department and he said I needed to get down to the bar and I figured it was nothing bad so me and Jack went down there and he had Fletcher cuffed. He was way past drunk he couldn't hardly form sentences. We started on our way back he kept saying a phrase we didn't figure it out for a while then we realized what he was saying. He asked "why me?" and it was generally followed by "Take me instead" The next morning I went and got his car with dad and I found a suicide note on the dash and his Kimber was in the glove box. He was going to shoot himself. He couldn't handle the guilt." He looked to the floor

His mom had to leave the room to keep from crying. Jack just quietly nodded remembering the suicide note that Mitchell recovered. Clair looked at them and frowned some.

"After that he worked on his car some and he then left to the nearest base and started training again. He hasn't been home since."

"I'm sorry" Clair spoke in a soft tone

"It's ok. You didn't know" Mitchell smiled

Clair did feel a little bad that she brought it up.

 **2100 hours Hereford**

Eliza had been kind of mopey since Jordan left. She did like having some time to herself but she still missed him. She didn't travel real far from her room other than to the gym or mess hall. She was sitting in the rec room on the sofa she had her knees up to her chest as she watched tv she would check her phone often just to see if she got a text from him. Emma was in the room as she had just got back from testing the shield with Gilles and Elena. She could tell Eliza was depressed. Emma came around and sat on the sofa next to her.

"You are still depressed that he isn't here aren't you?" Emma looked at her

Eliza sighed "Yes I am. I really wanted to go with him and spend more time with him off base"

Eliza and Emma had grown quite close over the years as them and Monika made up all of the female warriors of Rainbow when it was reactivated. It was odd at first but it quickly developed into a great friendship.

"He will be back soon and then you two can have all of the sex you could possibly want." Emma smirked as she could generally hear their beds squeak all the way in her dorm

The red head blushed and smiled as she thought about at how they would go at it as soon as Jordan got back. "Yeah I know but I still miss him" she bit her lip a little

Emma shook her head "Yeah I can generally hear you two go at it all the time"

"Well what can I say I thoroughly enjoy it, besides you are just jealous that you aren't getting any." Eliza teased

Emma blushed lightly and gave a slightly agitated look "I could get some if I wanted to"

Eliza chuckled "Yeah right, you always told Mark you were too busy with your drone to do it or pursue a relationship at all."

The Frenchwoman blushed harder as she thought those conversations were done in secrecy. "If I tried I could" She was grasping at straws at this point

Tina walked into the room and sat down on the couch next to Emma. She was wearing one of Mitchell's sweatshirts. "Emma you know Seamus and Julien have been after you for a while. I also think that Timur has taken a liking to you"

Emma's brows furrowed her face was still red "Really?" she asked

"Well that's what I have heard from Sebastian." Tina looked to the embarrassed Frenchwoman

Emma softly smiled. Eliza looked at Tina. "Is that Mitchell's sweatshirt?" Eliza asked

Tina smiled sheepishly "Yes it is"

"Why are you wearing it?" Eliza didn't know that Tina and Mitchell were dating

"Because I can" Really she was wearing it because it smelled like him

"Won't he be a little upset that you are wearing his clothes" Eliza continued

Emma laughed softly

"No he won't" Tina smirked

"Eliza they are dating you can ease up on your interrogation" Emma spoke

"Since when?" She asked confused

"A week ago" Tina smiled

"I had no idea" Eliza shook her head and started watching the tv again

They sat their quietly watching some random sit com. They heard a distinct snapping sound followed by a loud yelp and cussing in German. Emma and Eliza jumped. Tina sat there calmly continuing to watch the tv.

"What the hell was that?" Emma asked

"Dominic" Tina spoke calmly

She immediately had Emma and Eliza's undivided attention. They stared at her until she explained.

Tina sighed "He thought it would be funny to a smoke grenade into my dorm in while I was sleeping. So I thought I would get him back"

"You put a mat at his door didn't you" Emma looked at the Canadian

"I put a mat at his door and he will be fine it will only bruise him." Tina continued to watch TV

"He needs to learn to stop pulling pranks." Eliza chimed in

Everyone on the team had been pranked by Dominic at some point. There were few you got him back and Tina was one of those few who wasn't afraid to repay the favor.

 **July 2, 2018**

 **0330 Oceanside, California**

Everyone in the Castellano household was asleep. Aside from Fletcher. He could not sleep he wasn't used to such a soft and comforting mattress. He was still getting visits from the Hell Jumpers and it bothered him a great deal. He also couldn't get El Sueno out of his head. He decided to go for a run. He didn't give a damn about what time it was. He slipped into his running gear and he grabbed his phone threw his earbuds in. He jogged down the walk path next to the beach. He kept a steady pace as the song "Thunder Rolls" by Garth Brooks came over his earbuds. He really wished that he didn't feel so out of place being a civilian. He was probably a mile or two into his run and he got a phone call he answered it as he jogged.

"Yeah" He spoke in-between breaths

"Hey, I wanted to keep you updated on what all is going on down here. The cartel is being backed by the White Masks just as we suspected and the cartel is getting bolder. We are having problems now like bigger than missing a chopper or something. Like we can't even get out of Itacua without being shot at or being pinned down." Nomad spoke he sounded tired

"I still can't get down there until later. I really would like to be down there right now to help you out but I would be tagged AWOL and I can't have that. Mitchell is on leave as well you won't be able to get him either as he likes being home." Harding continued to run as he talked

"I know you can't but I just wanted to keep you posted. It's weird though because the cartel never could coordinate against us. It's like they are getting a direct feed into our radios." Nomad let out a yawn after his statement

Harding stopped running and his breath was short but not heavy. "You haven't noticed any mysterious figures in the past couple of days?"

Nomad thought for a minute "Now that I think about it I could have sworn that I saw a snipers nest on a ridge and it didn't belong to Unidad, the cartel, or the masks from what I could tell and the rebels don't have the skills for a long rifle. I couldn't tell if it was a nest or what we were in a hurry to get out of there."

Harding furrowed his eye brows and thought for a minute "You should probably get your tech guy to build a new comms system that has better encryption. If it's who I think it is then they are giving direct feed to the cartel."

"Who do you think it is?" Nomad asked

"I will explain when I get down there"

"Hey I got to go I will keep you posted"

"I will talk to you later." Fletcher hung up

He continued to run thinking about Bolivia and the situation that has developed down there it really bothered him and it made him more tired than he already was.

 **0730 hours Oceanside, California**

Meghan had got up an hour ago but she was still loafing around in her pajamas which was a tank top and hot pants. Matthew already had left as he needed to be on base. Erin was getting ready to leave. She and Meghan were having breakfast together. Fletcher was still out for his run.

"I will have tomorrow and the Fourth off hopefully we will get to spend some quality mother daughter time together." Erin smiled after swallowing down a spoon full of cereal

"I would like that I would also like to spend more time with dad" She smiled

"I know but things at the base have been getting more hectic as more recruits keep showing up." Erin just smiled at her daughter "I would also like to get to know your friend a little more."

Meghan just smiled and nodded as she wasn't sure if that was the best for Fletcher. Erin got a devious smirk on her face.

"Do you like Fletcher?" Erin kept her smirk

Meghan tried to keep from a blush coming over her face but she failed to do so. A light blush came over her face. "Maybe some"

Erin just chuckled as she put her bowl in the sink. She walked over and gave Meghan a hug before she left for work. Meghan started to go through her phone looking at news headlines and checking for texts. Harding came in the front door he had a light sweat he sat at the table he had bags under his eyes. He took off his arm band that held his phone to his arm and set it on the table. He rubbed his eyes and leaned back in the chair. Meghan looked at him she felt bad for him.

"Couldn't sleep huh?" she asked

"No I couldn't. I'm still having nightmares and I'm in a new environment." He let out a yawn

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked

"I can't stop seeing them ever since I talked about them" He looked at the table he felt embarrassed

Meghan knew who he was talking about and she just stayed quiet listening to him.

"I relive their deaths every time I close my eyes. I can still see their faces. I see the horror in Hawg's eyes I see the calming embrace in Travis and I see the joy in Forest's face thinking he was going home. *hard swallow* I can still feel their blood on my hands." He was trying to keep from getting choked up.

Meghan took his hand and opened it she started to trace the lines and scars that covered his palms with her thumb. She looked at him as she traced. She enjoyed the rough almost sand paper like feeling of his hands. As they were covered in scars and calloused. Thanks to all of the work he did on the cars and other vehicles.

"It doesn't help being in an environment that I am new to. I'm not used to have such a soft bed. I feel so out of place here." He continued to look at the table

"I'm sorry you can't get rid of those images if I could help you I would. Think about this, would Hawg want you to constantly think about the bad or keep focusing on her? I may not have known her fully but from what I could read she wouldn't tolerate this one minute she would've been pissed at you. I know you feel out of place being here but you just need to say something and I will do what I can to remedy the issue." Her green eyes pierced through him. She had an epiphany "Would it help if my dad took you to help train the recruits at Pendleton?"

He smirked thinking of what Hawg would say to him if she were there and he let out a huff of amusement. "Yeah it might help"

Meghan gave a nice heartwarming smile. They stared at each other for a few minutes studying the others face. She found herself staring into his eyes she loved the yellow color that they were. They were soft on the eyes. She could see the loneliness that he suffered from, she could also see the hate and pain that was just beneath the cold surface that he would always put on. She could also see something inside screaming for help. There was a small glimmer of hope in his eyes that was fragmented off from the outlaw. Maybe the outlaw was screaming for help. He enjoyed every feature of her face. In his eyes she was a goddess of divine wrath however there was compassion and love for everyone around her. Every time he looked into those green eyes he could feel her prodding around in his soul and shattered heart. They would have kept admiring one another had her phone not gone off. She had to fight herself to look at her phone. Fletcher stood up.

"I'm going to take a shower real quick." He smiled softly and gave a small nod

"Ok" Meghan nodded with that smile that made him melt

It was a text from Craig _"How is vacation? How are your parents? Also I think Monika and Elias used your dorm for something I heard a lot of groans and moans coming out of there nothing is out of place or missing however the bed is a wreck and I found a bra on the floor."_

Meghan let out an agitated sigh _"Vacation is nice so far, my parents are doing well. I want you to take my matress, sheets, and the pillow and burn it all and get me a new one out of one of each out of the unused dorms and then please lock the door and keep your spare in your room out of reach of those two."_

" _That's a big 10-4. On a minor note here Aria and Taina have been acting very strange and pissed off almost. Tina got Dominic pretty good with a Frost mat last night man that shit was funny. Anyway I will let you go and enjoy your vacation ttyl"_

Meghan gave a look of confusion at the comment on Aria and Taina. She brushed it off and she took a seat on the couch in the living room and she started to watch tv. She was going to show Fletcher around her old neighborhood. She cursed under her breath at herself as she wished that she would have made a move on Fletcher.


	16. Chapter 16: Close

**A/N: Hey everyone, I appreciate you all being patient with me on getting this chapter out. The next few week will be busy for me as the semester is drawing to an end. The chapter name is a little better than the last one. There is action in this chapter so Hurray! For the most part the chapter is slow for the most part just fair warning. I honestly can't wait to start writing the Bolivia chapters as you all should very much so enjoy what I have planned. The chapter name is the adjective not the verb just clarifying. Anyway don't be afraid to leave a review or PM me. Please let me know if I missed anything including translations. Enjoy!**

 _ **Chapter 16: Close**_

 **July 2, 2018**

 **0730 Plano, Texas**

Jordan had woken up an hour ago but he didn't want to get out of bed so he started to check his phone and look at different things. He surfed through the web. He had a skype call come in so he answered and a smile immediately came across his face as he saw his lover. She had a huge smile on her face. She was in her dorm she had clothes that tightly grasped her body. Her tank top was black and it stopped just above her navel. She had a red bra on she made sure that the straps showed so she could be a tease. She had workout tights on that left nothing to the imagination they had a red stripe going up the legs and stopping at her hips. She also had her hair down.

"How is Vacation?" Eliza asked

"It's good so far but it would be better if you were here" Jordan sat up in his bed "Isn't that a little bit of a provocative outfit?" Jordan smirked

"Well if you don't like it I can always take it off" Eliza gave a playful smile

"That would be nice" Jordan smiled at her eyeing her up

"Aren't you concerned that your mom might walk in on you?" Eliza teased

Jordan remembered that he was at home and the walls were fairly thin and his parents' bedroom was adjacent to his. He let out a small sigh. She gave a seductive smile and she slowly stripped her tank top off followed by her bra.

Jordan bit his lip "You are such a tease" he could feel himself getting hard.

She let out a small giggle before there was a knock at her door she quickly threw her top on. She set her phone down so Jordan was looking at the ceiling in the dorm he could hear Miles voice.

"Hey when you and Jordan get done having cam sex come down to the work shop Six wants you to examine the torch and see what it needs to be better." Miles spoke

Eliza blushed "Ok I will be down there soon"

She walked back with her face still red. She picked up the phone to see Jordan holding back some laughs. She started to chuckle with him.

"We need to be quieter I guess" Jordan chuckled

The two stared at each other with smiles on their faces. They closely examined each other's faces. Jordan's mom opened the door and smiled as she saw the smile on his face.

"Is that Eliza?" his mom asked

Jordan smiled bigger "yes mom it is"

"I can I meet my possible daughter in law?" His mom teased

Jordan turned a light red and looked to Eliza "What do you say Eliza?"

She turned red from being put on the spot she looked at her clothing and she didn't want to look like a slut for her boyfriend's mom.

"Not Right now I have to get to work here soon maybe later today" Eliza spoke loud enough for his mom to hear

"Ok when you feel comfortable or when Jordan decides that he wants me to meet you" His mom smiled deviously at him.

Eliza chuckled softly before she blew Jordan a kiss "I love you Jordan I will talk to you later"

"I love you too babe be safe" Jordan smiled and returned the kiss

The call ended and his mom sat on the bed with a smile. Jordan could feel her stare it made him slightly uncomfortable.

"What?" He asked looking at his mom

"I enjoy seeing you happy" She just smiled at her son "Can I see a picture of Eliza?" she asked

"Yeah" Jordan replied

He scrolled through his phone for a minute to find a picture of her that was decent to show his mother. He found one of them taking a selfie together. They were at a pub it wasn't too long after he was able to get out of the medical bed from his chest wound. He showed it to his mom. She just smiled.

"She is gorgeous Jordy" She couldn't help but smile.

"I really wish that she came with me so you could meet her in person. You would love her mom." Jordan smirked

"I know I would Jordan, I'm going to make breakfast so why don't you get dressed and come on down." His mom kissed his forehead she didn't give a damn how old he was. He was still her baby.

Jordan sat there for a minute after his mom went downstairs and he thought of all the things that he and Eliza could do. He really missed her even though they had just talked it wasn't the same as being there in person. He got dressed and went down stairs to have a good breakfast with his mother.

 **0800 Hours New York City, New York**

Cadmen was in his apartment studying the varying terrains in Bolivia and all the information the Ghosts had managed to capture. Normally he wouldn't be able to view that information as a civilian or a government official. Thanks to SHD tech (Pronounced as Shade) he didn't have to worry about it. His dog was at his side a yellow lab. He was very carefully examining the elevations and weather patterns. There was a knock on his door he quickly hid his guns and he looked through the peep hole of his apartment door he had his sawed off double barrel shotgun at the ready. It was Faye Lau he sighed and opened the door.

"Hey Cadmen mind if I come in?" She asked

"Come on in" he opened the door all the way letting her in she sat on the couch

While Cadmen wasn't activated in the second wave he still held respect for the second wave agents seeing as they cleaned up the city. He had developed a good friendship with Faye. Most of her wounds had healed her eye was mostly healed but she still had some blindness in it. Her leg was fully healed and her facial scar had faded. She looked at the map and around the apartment she could see the gun cleaning kits and pieces of SHD tech lying around she knew what he was going to do.

"You're going to Bolivia aren't you?" She asked in a somewhat demanding tone.

"Yes I am seeing as Sueno has returned I feel the need to pay him a visit and help out the team that's already down there." Cadmen spoke she could see the hate in his eyes.

"Cadmen I know how you feel about the cartel and seeing as I am now a senior division agent I should tell you not to go. Cadmen you can't go to Bolivia and start a war with the cartel especially with all of this government tech if you die then you give them access to all of it and then we will have worse things than a virus to deal with not mention we would be losing a valuable asset" Faye spoke in a commanding tone

"Look Faye I know this but here is the thing I can finally avenge my wife and son I might have killed most of the Riker inmates and all of the cartel warriors in Rikers but it isn't the same as killing Sueno the head of the cartel and there has been confirmation that White masks are backing the cartel and we both know that is a shit sandwich without bread. If I don't go they will have more control over the nation and have access to even more highly advanced military gear. The last time someone told me not to go the Dark Zone was formed and I lost a lot of good friends. I'm going whether you or the head of SHD likes it or not. Not mention that the team down there already is having more and more issues." Cadmen had a look of determination in his eyes

"Damn it Cadmen I know about the whole Dark Zone issue but I'm not telling you to pull out I'm saying to not to go sit this one out and leave it to Ghost Recon they can handle it." Faye had anger in her voice. She gave him a stern look

"If Ghost Recon can handle it then why is the head of the team constantly making calls to a person in California each call has been on the subject of this person going down to Bolivia and helping them out. This person seems to know a hell of a lot more than they do." Cadmen challenged Faye's anger.

"Cadmen we are no longer active you shouldn't even be able to use ISAC not mention go to war. You just can't start wars because of a personal vendetta. As for the person in California, they are probably a high ranking intelligence officer in the military trying to get assistance from other JSOC elements." Faye's voice was starting to raise

"I'm not starting a war I'm finishing it." Cadmen responded the hate from his voice seemed to seep into the walls

Faye bit her tongue and closed her eyes and let out a breath of air. "Alright then you better make sure that you come back with all of that gear. If you get caught I will not back you up in court and if you get tagged as rouge then I will have to have the second wave hunt you down. Am I clear?" She asked with anger in her voice

Cadmen nodded "That's fair to me. I get caught we never talked"

"Good, now what can I help you with?" she asked in a calmer tone

"I need help going through all of the files on operation King Slayer, also while I'm gone I will need someone to take care of Tucker" Cadmen looked to her

She nodded "I will get started on that and who is Tucker?"

"Tucker is the dog who is wanting your attention" Cadmen pointed to his dog

Faye looked down as she never noticed Tucker before he had his head on her leg looking at her begging to be petted. She started to pet him and she looked at Cadmen.

"What does he eat?" she asked in an annoyed tone

"Give him some of the dry food a cup or two should do the trick and if you could walk him for me I would appreciate it and I will pay you every day that you have to feed and walk him. $30 a day." Cadmen had a faint smirk

"Alright I will do it but remember you will owe me" She pointed at him

"Yes I know I owe you for taking care of my dog and letting me go to Bolivia" Cadmen couldn't help but smile.

They immediately started to work as they looked through every piece of Intel that they could get their hands on. ISAC helped with the decryption of more secure files and classified ones. It was obvious at how much muscle the cartel had now. Not only access to military grade weapons and equipment but also chemical weapons and equipment that close to SHD capabilities. That worried both Faye and Cadmen as they figured some of the remnants of the LMB went to Bolivia to train the Sicario's. They also came across weird radio encryption as it wasn't exactly military standard they figured it was just the Ghosts encryption. When really it was Jester's comm gear that was piggy backing off the Ghosts radio network. The also noticed strange shipping routes of the coke some of it was going to a theme park in China. The shipment were regular they were sporadic and unpredictable. They didn't line up with any of the older Intel they had. It was the White Masks taking care of their logistics and transportation. Every shipment was worth a minimum of ten million dollars.

"Fucking hell the cartel is so well connected it's almost like a well-organized government or shipping business." Cadmen spoke looking over a file

"Look at this they have exports going to Italy to a crime family that was supposedly taken down by the G.I.S." Faye handed him a file.

Cadmen took the file. "God damn this is ridiculous."

Faye looked at him "Cadmen you said the leader of the ghost team was making a lot of calls to someone in Cali, do you know who it is?"

"If the voice recognition is right then it's someone I met when I worked with a PMC force. I think his name is Fletcher or something like that but I can remember exactly." Cadmen looked at her as he tried to think of who Nomad was talking to.

Faye nodded as they got back to work.

 **0830 hours New Hope, Ohio**

Mitchell was feeding the horses and giving them attention. He loved those horses he could remember in his younger years riding them and training them. He would ride them and spend a lot of time with them when he was home. He was grooming one of them he brushed their fur getting all of the burs out of it. She was a Kiger Mare. He smiled.

"You know I missed you" he spoke to the horse with a smile

The horse looked at him and whinnied.

Mitchell chuckled "oh you missed me too?"

It whinnied again

Mitchell laughed and he continued to brush. He felt his phone go off he answered and put it on speaker.

"Hello?"

"Hey Mitch it's been a long time"

"Nomad, how is it been?" Mitchell smiled

"It's been good other than the cartel being up my ass" Nomad spoke

"Why would you put the cartel up your ass?" Mitchell had a smile

"haha (sarcasm) very funny. I just wanted to update you on what's going on here in Bolivia or has Fletcher already told you?" Nomad asked

"The last thing I heard was that Sueno was out of prison but other than that I haven't heard anything else" Mitchell spoke as he brushed the horse's fur

"Why hasn't Fletcher said anything to you?" Nomad asked out of curiosity

"Well he knows that I enjoy vacation and I don't like to talk about work. Not to mention he is on the other side of America right now." Mitchell stroked his horse's muzzle.

"What?! You mean you two aren't butt fucking each other right now?" Nomad asked with amusement

"Yeah he is in California right now with another coworker." Mitchell chuckled

"Unbelievable, anyway I wanted to let you know the cartel is being backed by the white masks and that they are more coordinated than before like we can't walk out of the home region without being shot at."

"Ok, well when me and Fletch get down there we will have to get that old soundtrack of ours going" Mitchell smiled

"Really? Why?" Nomad almost sounded like he was whining

Mitchell chuckled "for old times' sake" the horse whinnied

"Was that… a horse?" Nomad asked curiously

"Yeah that's Hope my horse" Mitchell smiled

"I never took you as a horse guy"

"Not many do" Mitchell chuckled

"Hey I have to go I will speak to you later" Nomad hung up

"Yeah Hope he is a good friend" Mitchell smiled

Hope pressed her muzzle against him trying to get him to pet her more. He just chuckled and he scratched her neck. He loved that horse just as much as he loved Tina. The thought of her popped in his head and he frowned some he did miss her even though they only went on one date he was just so used to having her close by. He hugged Hope tightly.

"You are going to laugh at me, I met a girl" he smiled and Hope snorted at him

He chuckled "I will make sure you get to meet her I think you like her" Hope snorted again

Mitchell just smiled

"Later today we will go for a ride ok?" he looked at her and smiled

She gave a loud whinny. Mitchell chuckled and petted her muzzle a little more before going back inside. Jack and Clair had just got up for the day. Mitchell's dad had just got back from his shift at the plant. His mom had leave for work. Jack looked at Mitchell and saw the horse hair on his shirt.

"Which do you love more Tina or your horse?" Jack chuckled his voice was a little raspy

"I love them equally, giant." Mitchell couldn't help but smile

"His height isn't the only giant quality" Clair teased

"That's something I didn't need to know Clair" Mitchell smirked as he poured himself a cup of coffee

"Why you Jealous?" Jack chuckled

Mitchell just bit his tongue and smiled. He turned around and shook his head as he took a sip from his coffee. Clair looked at him.

"Could you take me on a horse ride Mitchell?" she asked

"Yeah I can but wouldn't you want Jack to go instead of me?" Mitchell asked

"I can't ride a horse that's why not to mention they make me nervous." Jack looked at Mitchell

"Why are you afraid of a horse?" Mitchell asked

"The last one I was around trampled me, it would be good for you to get know each other"

"I can understand and that's fine with me." Mitchell smiled

 **1000 hours Hereford**

Taina was in the gym she was getting ready to start lighting up a punching bag. She was very pissed that Sueno was out of prison and that the cartel was starting to rebuild itself. She hung up one of the heavy bags and she started to wail on it. Her punches could be heard across the room it was like a constant barrage of artillery fire. Sebastian was in there with Craig. They were benching Craig was on the bench with Sebastian spotting. Craig finished his set and he looked over to Taina.

"Damn I would hate to be that punching bag"

"No kidding wonder what's got her all worked up" Sebastian asked

"I don't know she has been like that for the past few days so has Aria it's so strange just like something snapped in them" Craig spoke looking at Taina

"Maybe it's their time of the month" Sebastian joked

Craig chuckled lightly "maybe"

They sat there and they kept watching her light up that punching bag.

"I'm going to try and talk to her" Sebastian spoke

Craig chuckled "that's funny"

"No I'm serious Craig" Sebastian started to walk over

"Fuck I better get trauma kit" Craig went looking for a trauma kit

Sebastian stood next to her watching "Why don't you spar with something that can think?"

Taina looked at him her stare cut through him like knife through butter. She liked Sebastian as he wasn't thirsty like most of the guys. She honestly thought he was kind of sweet. Though she never showed it.

"What are you asking Sebastian?" she asked

" _Please don't ask me to spar with you please don't" she spoke to herself_ she really didn't want to hurt to him.

"I want you to spar with me and tell me what's got you so upset" Sebastian gave a smile

" _Why are you doing this to me Seb? Why?"_

"Ok, but don't whine like a bitch when you get your ass kicked" She spoke

They moved the mats out so they could spar they took their stances. Sebastian couldn't help but smile.

"Are going to hit me or what?" he teased

"Be careful of what you ask for" She fired back

She pounced like a cat on to a mouse. Within seconds she had him face down on the mat pinned. She smiled.

"Are going to fight me or what?" She spoke mockingly

"I'm just getting warmed up" Sebastian fired back

They struck a stance again he made the first move he threw a left hook. She ducked under it and she came up with a hard upper cut sending him reeling. She took this opportunity and landed a barrage of hits on his body. He grunted in pain and she went for his legs and took him to the ground and she had him on his back and she was on top of him she continued to strike him. She couldn't stop herself. She had bruised his face pretty good nothing was broke yet. Sebastian was able to get his arms up to cover his face. She went to strike his body. He grabbed her shoulders and threw her down on the mat hard. He was just going to pin her and reset. She put him in a scissor hold with her legs. He couldn't do much he could feel his face becoming red from the lack of oxygen. He hit her knees hard enough to make them buckle. He was able to get free of her grasp. He picked her up by her legs he was about to slam her on the mat. She grabbed his ankle and yanked hard enough to make him too lose his balance. She quickly got back on top of him and she pinned his arms this time and started to strike his face and body again. He had blood starting to leak from his nose. Craig came back and grabbed her off of him. She was swinging the whole way. He looked at Sebastian.

"Are you alright?" Craig asked

"Yeah, I didn't think she would hit so hard." He smirked wiping the blood from his nose.

Taina could already see the bruises starting to form on his face and she quickly left and disappeared to one of the secluded rooms that were in the dorms area. She could feel a small tear starting to form in her eyes. She wished that she wasn't antisocial and not so much of a physco but she had to be in order to survive. She wanted to have a normal life. She was mad at herself for not controlling herself. She felt even worse because Sebastian was the only one who made a real effort to talk to her when she first arrived. Sure everyone tried to talk to her before but when she shut them down they stopped trying. Sebastian was the only one who put a real effort forward to break her out of her shell. She still remembers their first training simulation together when she interrogated him she could remember the smile on his face. Which made her hesitate at first but she still carried on with the interrogation. She liked him a lot. She chooses not to show it as she doesn't want to be seen as vulnerable. She brought her knees up to her chest and buried her face in her knees she wrapped her arms around her legs. She quietly sobbed. Sebastian had a black eye bruised ribs and surprisingly his nose wasn't broken.

 **1200 hours New Hope, Ohio**

Mitchell and Clair were getting ready to for a horse ride. Jack had to have a skype call with his boss. They were out in the barn Mitchell let Hope out of the stall.

"Which do you want Hope? Bareback or saddle?" Mitchell asked

Hope walked over and pressed her muzzle against the saddle. Mitchell smiled. Clair chuckled.

"She is a smart horse" Clair commented

"Yes she is" Mitchell smiled as he threw the saddle on Hope's back and tightened the straps so they were snug but not too tight.

"Have you ever rode before?" Mitchell asked as he got his mom's horse Apollo out of his stall.

"I have some but not a lot. Like I know how to ride side saddle and a few other things but not a lot." Clair gave a soft smile

"Pfft. What do you need me for?" Mitchell chuckled as he saddled up Apollo

"Well I don't want to accidentally go on to someone else's property." Clair smiled as she mounted the horse.

Mitchell hopped onto Hope. They walked on to one of the trails they traveled side by side. Mitchell looked at Clair.

"Tell me about yourself" Mitchell smiled as he took in the scenery of the woods.

"Well I'm originally from Louisiana. My family was your typical working class family both parents worked like dogs. I moved to Kentucky for college. I then moved out to North Dakota for work. Then the company I worked for moved me back to Kentucky for work and better pay. I have an MBA and an associates in phycology. I'm a regional manager for Ford." She looked at him as they traveled.

"Well damn aren't you just a smarty pants." Mitchell chuckled

"I guess you could say that" Clair smiled

How did you meet Jack?" He asked

"We met in Kentucky. A friend of mine who was working at the VA as a shrink met Jack in 2011 he was making regular visits. They actually developed a good friendship so they got to know each other fairly well. I have broken up with a guy a few months before hand and I was ready to start looking again and my friend set us up on a blind date. That was when I knew he was the one. Just I don't know what it was but we just hit it off. He just understood me and he wasn't looking for a short term relationship. He told me about his ex and kids and he told me about you and the Hell Jumpers. Yes I know it's classified and I can't tell anyone. But he proposed to me at the same place we had our first date. It was romantic." She had a huge smile on her face.

"I'm glad that you found him he is a good guy and he will never wrong you." Mitchell smiled

"I know that, why don't you tell me about yourself" She looked at him

"Well I have a high school diploma. I joined the Army when I was nineteen and I was recruited into the Rangers when I was twenty. I joined another team the same year after I completed Ranger school. I met Jack when I was between teams and me and my friend got transferred to Jack's unit and well we just got a long and we got know each other very well." Mitchell smiled remembering the months before they deployed to Libya.

"I know Jack has told me stories about you. I haven't heard a lot about your friend much" She looked at him

"Well I'm not surprised. Fletcher literally left after Libya and he hasn't been state side until recently. Jack hasn't seen him in seven years." Mitchell really didn't want to ponder the subject more.

"What is he like?" Clair asked curiously

"He is quiet and closed off. Libya changed him to what he is now." That's all he replied with.

Clair could tell he really didn't want to talk about it.

"I see, I'm sorry if I'm bringing up things you don't want to talk about" Clair got an apologetic look on her face

"It's ok you have a right to know who Jack's friends are seeing as you are a part of the Family." Mitchell smiled

Clair just smiled. They continued to ride down the trails of the woods in no real hurry. They were constantly sharing stories of the 'good ol' days' as Mitchell would say. Hope really enjoyed having Mitchell ride her as it has been a while since he had done that. They eventually got back to the house. Mitchell enjoyed getting to know Clair he knew she was the one for Jack.

 **1400 hours Oceanside, California**

Meghan and Harding were walking around Oceanside. Meghan was showing him around all of the spots that she used to hang out at. She was happy as she could be. Fletcher enjoyed seeing her like this but he was rather bored not to mention tired. He didn't want to hurt Meghan's feelings so he pretended to enjoy it. He listened to her talk about some of the things she did at those places. To him Oceanside was just another place that he visited. Really he hated most of the snobby people that littered the town. If he were back home he would have knocked them down a couple of pegs. She knew he was bored she could see it in his eyes. She was enjoying torturing him some as he bored her with some of the talks of the cars that he worked on or built. She did find some of it interesting but it got boring after a while. They were walking along the beach. She couldn't understand how he wasn't boiling hot in the California heat. He was wearing a black shirt and jeans with leather work boots. She honestly couldn't see a single bead of sweat. She was roasting and she had on Caprice (the shorts that stop just above the knee I don't know what they are actually called). With a white T shirt.

"How in the hell are you not sweating?" She asked

He chuckled "I lived in the middle east for seven years wearing fatigues that didn't breathe so this is nothing. Back in England I freeze my balls off on a moderately warm day."

She shook her head they walked for a little bit. She was a little nervous about asking something she finally convinced herself to ask it. She looked at him.

"Fletcher what were your parents like?" she asked

She could see a small amount of distress in him. He looked forward as they walked along the beach.

"My dad was a low rate mechanic who would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. He was an extremely nice guy, honestly Mitchell reminds me of him. My mother owned a Tavern she was tough as nails and wasn't afraid to tell you off but she loved people even if she pissed them off. She always pushed you to do your best. I loved them both and I miss them both." Fletcher refused to make eye contact with Meghan.

"Why don't you talk about them?" She asked

"Because they are both dead" He cut his sentence short

"I'm sorry" she responded

He nodded as they continued to walk. He looked at all of the families out on the beach and seeing the kids run into the ocean water. It was like a higher power reminding him of what he was fighting for. She noticed his particular interest in the families.

"Have you ever thought about having a family?" she asked

He turned a little red "I did at one point many years ago but I don't know if I would want a family I always figured I would die before I got the chance. Not to mention that I officially don't exist. That never helps and not to mention she would probably leave me because I would always have to leave and never be able to tell her why. So in recent times no I haven't thought about having a family of my own."

"What if she was a part of military personnel? Would you then?" Meghan asked

"Maybe then I would try but I have been damaged goods ever since I pulled my ass out of the shit hole they call Libya." His voice was calm as ever

"Why do you think your damaged goods?" she asked curiously

"Tell me one woman that wants to be with a guy that has PTSD, bad social skills, and is introverted" He let out a huff of amusement

" _I do" she said to herself_ "Fletcher there is someone out there for everyone even you." She looked at him

"Well I appreciate the token of enthusiasm I personally don't believe that" He gave a soft chuckle.

They walked back to Meghan's house. She went to take a shower. He took a seat on the couch and he couldn't help but think of his parents and how they died. His dad was killed in a car accident by a drunk driver. It was a head on collision his dad died on impact. He felt regret and guilt grow inside of him as he couldn't go to the funeral because he was on mission at the time and his mom disowned him because she thought he did it on purpose. He couldn't tell her why as all of the mission details were classified. Then the thought of his mom popped in his head. She died to a heart attack. He never forgave himself for not going AWOL to say goodbye one last time. He looked to his feet just thinking about if he did things differently. How life would have been different if he would've left the military after his dad died or if he never joined at all. He could have been in the UFC if he really tried. He bit his tongue to keep himself from talking to himself.

" _Meghan seems to have taken a strong interest in you Ghost"_ he knew that voice. It was someone he hadn't from in a long time. It was the Outlaw.

" _I thought you died" "I did but you talk to yourself to much and it seems as if love has started to revive a little piece of the old you. Man does it feel nice to walk around again." "Where have you been for the past seven years?" "You tore me to pieces and you never had a reason to build the outlaw again. It seems Meghan is the thread needed to stitch you back together. Interesting really." He continued to talk to himself internally_

Thirty minutes had passed and Meghan had come down to the living room where he was. The scent of her body wash and shampoo was like a punch in the face. It was a sweet and citrusy scent. It was intoxicating. He absolutely loved it. She smiled at him and sat down on the couch next to him.

"What did you do drown yourself in shampoo?" He chuckled

"You of all people should know how much conditioner it takes to maintain hair."

"Too chey" (sorry if I spelled that wrong)

She grabbed the remote

"Is there anything that you would like to watch?" she asked

"No not really you pick" He looked at her

She scrolled through the channels there was nothing but reruns and news on. So she turned to Netflix and she figured he would want to watch some action movie and she put on _"Ghostbusters"_ she didn't care that it was out of season for the movie. It was a good movie and one of her favorites. Fletcher liked the movie as well. They sat and watched the movie intently. After about an hour Fletcher drifted into sleep. Meghan noticed this and she softly pulled him down so he was partially laying down his legs were still off the couch. She set his head in her lap. She started to run her fingers through his long and thick hair. It was something she wanted to do ever since she had started trying to get close to him. His hair was smooth as silk. She was surprised that he didn't wake up. She looked at his face and she couldn't help but admire him. He was very handsome in her eyes and the facial scar only added to it. She took her free hand and softly ran it along his scar. She was even more surprised by the fact that he wasn't having an outburst. She smiled as she ran her fingers through his hair. She leaned down and gave a soft kiss on his cheek. Which surprised her even more by the fact that he didn't wake up. Really he was awake he was just seeing what she would do. He had a hard time not smiling or scaring the shit out of her. He did end up falling asleep as having her message his scalp essentially was very relaxing and comforting. He didn't have a terror or an episode it was restful and peaceful sleep.

 **1900 hours Hong Kong**

Lesion, Ying, Hibana, Bandit, Blackbeard, and Ela were called in to deal with a white mask threat at an abandon theme park in Hong Kong. They were already on site. They were going in loud and proud. Blackbeard had set up a breacher on the front door he and Ela were going to take the main lobby. Lesion and Hibana were going to storm the dining hall. Bandit and Ying were taking the floor above the dining hall.

"Remember the plan and stay cool no matter what happens." Blackbeard spoke first He looked to Ela "Ready?"

"Whenever you are pirate" She prepped two concussions

He detonated the charge rendering the door into splinters. Ela tossed her concussions into the room two more loud bangs and groans followed. They peaked the door and sprayed down every mask in sight. Hibana breached the back door and Lesion threw an impact at the hallway wall creating a rotation hole for them to pass through safely.

"Let's go flower girl." Lesion smiled as that was his nick name for hibana as her name meant fire flower.

"I'm going to kick your ass if you keep calling me that." Hibana shook her head as they jumped through the rotation hole.

"THEY ARE OCCUPIED AT MAIN DOOR YING AND BANDIT BREACH" Blackbeard shouted as he put on a fresh shield

Ying prepped a candela as Bandit smashed out the window. She chucked the candela in it let off its flashes and they pushed into the control room on the second floor. They got to the door frame to be greeted by bullets at from the bathroom and the red room.

"I zink we pissed zem off ya?" Bandit chuckled

Ying shook her head "Just shoot them"

Bandit threw his homemade nitro cell into the bathroom and detonated it taking out five of the masks in the room. Ying popped out from the door frame and dumped half a mag into two masks that were guarding the room. Bandit dove behind the divider and he popped back up taking out the last three in the room. They quickly moved to the office Ying tossed another candela in the office. Bandit gunned down two of them before he realized that there were more than he could handle in there.

"MEIN GOTT" (my god) he shouted

Ying grabbed his vest and yanked him back out of the room before she blind fired her lmg into the room she tagged one and the others cowered behind cover.

"GO I GOT THIS" She yelled at Bandit

He went into the room behind office he was going to flank through the bathroom and clean out the office. She rushed into the office and finished off two more. One of the masks came behind her and put his handgun to her head.

"Drop the gun missy" He spoke

She whipped around and landed a hard hit on his throat. It didn't kill him but it made him stagger he held his throat. He aimed his gun at her. She yanked that shit out of his hands before he could do anything and she shot him square in the face. Bandit walked in after taking a few out in the bathroom.

"I guess you did have it" He smiled and picked up her LMG off the ground and handed it to her.

"Don't ever doubt me because of my size" She loaded a fresh mag "first half of the second floor is clear." She spoke into the radio

Hibana and Lesion were pinned in the small closet outside of haunted dining. "WE NEED ASSISTANCE ON THE FIRST FLOOR AND THE DINING ROOM" Hibana shouted.

"YING, BANDIT HELP THEM OUT WE ARE STUCK AT THE MAIN ENTRANCE" Blackbeard shouted

Bandit quickly ran down the steps and in a flash he took out three of the masks hiding at the stairs. Ying rushed down into the back hallway on the first floor. She was going to push through execution room and help clean out the Haunted dining. Hibana fired two sets of her pellets on to the wall of haunted dining. They started to burn. Lesion got behind one of the statues in the room he took cover as Bandit pushed up and took out the masks pinning down Lesion and Hibana. The pellets on the wall exploded and Lesion and Bandit quickly dove in through the hole and used the chaos to take out half the room before they took cover behind the table and the divider wall.

"FLASH INCOMING" Hibana yelled tossing two flashbangs into the room

The flashbangs did their job and she chalked up the last few in the room. Ying came through the execution room.

"Dining clear. We are moving to the day care and the barrel storage." Hibana spoke into the radio

"WE ARE IN BARREL STORAGE CLEAN OUT THE SECOND FLOOR. WE WILL THEN PUSH INTO THE ROOMS BELOW UNDERSTOOD?" Blackbeard shouted.

"Understood"

Hibana and lesion pushed up the yellow stairs with Ying and Bandit in tow. They could hear another language being spoke. It wasn't English it was Spanish. Hibana tossed her remaining flashes into the café and Ying tossed her candela into the bunks. Bandit and Hibana went into the café. There were Santa Blanca sicario's complaining about their eyes in Spanish. Bandit quickly dispatched the three in the room. Blackbeard and ela were shooting through a small murder hole they created and they were shooting into the drug lab. Ela heard footsteps come from her left it was a sicario with two smg's she quickly snapped her sights on to him and dumped her whole mag into him to ensure he died.

"Jezus" Ela spoke in her native tongue

Ying and Lesion cleared out the daycare. Surprisingly there was no one in bunks. They four on the second floor quickly pushed into the bathroom behind the drug lab. Blackbeard and Ela kept putting pressure on the drug lab itself.

"Watch your fire we are pinching from the bathroom" Bandit spoke

"HARD COPY HARD COPY" Blackbeard shouted

The team pushed in from behind and they took out the remaining hostiles with ease. The adrenaline was slowly starting to leave their systems.

Blackbeard looked at one of the corpses.

"Who the hell are these guys?" He asked

Bandit knew who they were "They are sicario's from the Santa Blanca Cartel"

"What the hell are they doing here in Hong Kong?" He asked while taking his helmet off.

"Drugs" was all that bandit said

Lesion looked to the drug storage room

"Hey Dominic come take a look at this" Lesion spoke with some chipper in his voice

Bandit walked into the room and noticed all of the drugs his eyes widened. Blackbeard looked at it in awe.

"They were making that shit here weren't they?" He looked to the German

"Yes zey were all of this here is 40 million dollars in cocaine." Dominic looked to his American coworker

"Are you like the cocaine rain man or something?" Liu asked

"When you have dealt drugs undercover you know how to weigh coke by looking at it." Dominic looked at the amount of drugs

"That still doesn't explain why the masks are working with the cartel." Siu looked at him

"There is something sketchy going on and I don't like it" Dominic spoke

Craig sighed "Well photograph everything including the sicario's and the drugs and send it to six"

Everyone nodded and they took pictures of everything. The contacted the Hong Kong PD to take care of the drugs and clean up. Six had received the pictures and she looked at them carefully and she became worried at the thought of the Cartel and the Masks working together. She actually for once in a long time felt a small amount of fear.


	17. Chapter 17: Confessions

**A/N: Hello Everyone, Sorry this took so long to get out but I wanted to finish the home chapters up. I'm not sure if anybody was wondering but I will be adding Maverick and Clash here soon probably after the Bolivia chapters. I don't know at how fast I will be able to crank out chapters as things are still a little busy with college and what not. The holiday season is also quickly approaching so please be patient with me for the next two or so months as I will be busy. You should all know what to expect out of this chapter based on the name. I honestly got tired of writing these home chapters. So I look forward to be blowing shit up in the next few chapters. The opening scene is based off of a scene from Heartbreak ridge with Clint Eastwood. I'm excited for wind bastion I can't wait to get my hands on the new ops. Please let me know if I missed any mistakes or have mistakes with the translations. Don't be afraid to leave a review or PM me. Enjoy!**

 _ **Chapter 17: Confessions**_

 **July 3, 2018**

 **Bolivia Montoyac province**

Jester was showing the sicario's how fight with electronic warfare. Everything from a simple jammer to a complex emp. Hades was teaching the older sicario's how to lead in combat and how to make the best decision possible in the field. Anubis was teaching marksmanship and positioning. There were a few LMB officers assisting with the training. El Muro was watching over the training he was quite impressed with the abilities of Anubis, Jester, and Hades. They were much better than Carl Bookheart ever was. The Unidad was keeping security and they too were assisting with the training. They were mainly covering vehicle maintenance and repairs. Anubis was walking behind a group of sicarios as they shot seeing how their marksmanship was. One Sicario was missing almost of his shots.

"El rifle es malo" (the rifle is bad) the sicario shouted

Anubis walked up to the sicario "Dejame ver que" (Let me see that) he grabbed the rifle out of the sicario's hands

Anubis lined up the target and fire three shots in rapid succession he made a perfect triangle around the bullseye. "No hay nada malo con ese rifle" (there is nothing wrong with that rifle) He handed the gun back to the sicario and walked on

" _Man these guys can shoot for shit" Anubis spoke to himself_

A group of Sicarios had just returned from a gun fight with the Ghosts. Some of them had been shot up pretty good. They were quickly wheeled over to the medical building. Where a few LMB officers were waiting to start surgery. They quickly took them in and started to operate on the wounded. One of the white mask leaders went to El Muro's office. "Sir, the ghosts are proving to be more resilient than we thought we have them pushed back into the center of Itacua. They are no longer attacking our bases or convoy's. They are on the defense."

El Muro nodded "good I want our next shipment pushed out today. Keep up the assault on the Americans and the rebels the longer they are here the more Intel and damage they can cause."

"Yes sir. We will keep up the offensive I will get a hold of the logistics and let them know to send out the shipment." The mask nodded and left the office

He sat at his desk looking at the expenses of his training. Someone managed to sneak into the office without him knowing. He wore a mask that portrayed emoticons over his eyes and a small voice changer. He wore a dedsec pin on his jacket. He was investigating what was going on in Bolivia out of his own personal curiosity and he needed information so the best place was to start with their tech. El Muro knew he was there. El muro quietly grabbed the pistol from under the desk he was sitting at without it being obvious. Wrench slowly crept closer think El Muro wasn't paying attention. Just as Wrench was about strike El Muro, he turned around and pointed the gun at Wrench.

"What are you doing in here?" El Muro asked

Wrench froze staring at El Muro and the gun "I was seeing what was going on here in Bolivia everyone in the government has been talking about it."

"So you work for the government huh we will show you what we do to people from the government." El Muro grabbed him and put the gun in his back

"No man I don't work for the government I meant that all over the outlets the government uses." Wrench spoke

"Yeah that's something an agent would say" El Muro responded

They walked down the steps on the outside of the building a couple of the lieutenants of the Sicario's took wrench and they took him to a holding cell. Until he could be transported to a prison camp.

 **Itacua Province, Bolivia**

Nomad and his team had been pushed back deep into Itacua however they found a dumbass redneck in Bolivia as well. He wore American flag pants and a tank top. His accent was a deep southern. Nomad absolutely hated this guy by the name of Hurk.

"What the hell are you doing in Bolivia?" Karen asked

"Well I got an offer from this guy with a mask and he said he needed help gettin here so I said ok I can fly ya' 'cause my buddy Nick taught me how to fly a plane. Man he is gonna be pissed when he finds out I took his plane. Man I was sneaky like a ninja. I flew him here and that was all. that was the last that I saw of him." Hurk spoke with excitement

Bowman shook her head and walked away "Does someone here speak dumbass redneck?" She looked to the ghost team.

"No" Nomad spoke for them all

"I don't understand why this fuck face and his pal would want to come here." Bowman let out a sigh of agitation

"I don't know why either but this is getting bad. Most of the rebel have been captured or killed we need to pull out of Bolivia this shit is going to get us killed." Nomad spoke

"We are not pulling out we are going to take out this cartel one way or another." Bowman spoke with confidence

Nomad could feel some rage building inside of him his fist clenched "Bowman look we did great the first time but now we have to pull out we are going to get overrun and killed. Remember what they did to Sandavol? Do you want that to happen to you? I have a family to return to I will not die like that we need to leave."

"We are not leaving!" She too was starting to get angry

"YOU CAN STAY BUT ME AND MY TEAM ARE PULLING OUT. BOLIVIA IS A LOST CAUSE WE ARE POWERLESS HERE. I'M NOT LIKE YOU OR ANY OTHER SPOOK I PUT MY TEAM FIRST WE ARE LEAVING!" Nomad shouted

Bowman did not like this one bit "I AM NOT GIVING UP ON THE PEOPLE OF BOLIVIA I WILL TAKE DOWN THE CARTEL BY MYSELF IF I HAVE TO. I KNOW YOU HAVE A FAMILY BUT YOU SWORE AN OATH TO DEFEND OUR COUNTRY AND THE CARTEL IS A THREAT TO OUR COUNTRY MORE PEOPLE WILL DIE IF WE DON'T STAY AND FIGHT!"

"WE CAN'T FIGHT AGAINST THEM THEY ARE FUCKING IN OUR COMMS AND EVERYTHING ELSE WE ARE COMPLETELY POWERLESS. WE CAN'T EVEN LEAVE ITACUA WITH OUT BEING PINNED DOWN OR ALMOST KILLED WE NEED TO LEAVE THIS DAMN COUNTRY WE NEED A DAMN ARMY TO TAKE THESE FUCKERS ON WE ARE FOUR FUCKING GUYS WE DO NOT HAVE THE FIRE POWER OR THE TACTICS TO TAKE ON AN ARMY I'M SORRY BUT WE HAVE TO GO AND I MEAN IT!" Nomad shouted at the top of his lungs his face was almost as red as a cherry his lungs felt like they were on fire.

The ghosts pulled them a part and separated them. Nomad and Bowman were panting from their yelling match. Everyone knew they needed to pull out but no one wanted to get caught in the argument. Weaver, Holt, and Midas looked at each other with worry but no one spoke a word. Hurk was awe struck at those to yelling at each other. Nomad pulled a picture of his family out of his wallet he missed his wife and kid even if his kid didn't listen to him at times. He couldn't stand the thought of not being around for his boy. He wanted to stay and fight but he also wanted to get home and the lack of sleep made the latter his first priority. Little did they know Jester was listening in on their 'discussion.' The ghosts were finally starting to break and Jester knew it he had a half smile on his face as things were going according to plan but he didn't want the ghosts to die for something like this.

Hades walked into the room Jester was using.

"What are they up to Donny?" Hades asked

"They are starting to break and they were just arguing about pulling out." Jester kicked his feet up on the table and let out a sigh.

"Let's hope they don't. I have been meaning to talk to you. Are you alright you haven't been normal for the past few days." Hades looked to him

Jester looked down "Yeah I know. I have been thinking about dad and the rest of my family. I don't like how we are going about things. John I don't think this is right I don't like that we have to fight our own. I don't want to go to hell John and I can't shake the feeling that I have a first class seat." Jester was religious but he never really showed it. However he always owned up to the commandments.

"Jesus loved everyone Donny. He loved the prostitutes, the thief's, the tax collectors he loved everyone and if you ask for forgiveness and believe in him as your savior you won't go to hell" John put his hand on Donny's shoulder.

"I know but John working with the White Masks and now the Cartel is making me feel like we should disappear from the scene." Donny looked to his leader

"Donny I know. But look at how much we are going to be able to accomplish I don't like how we have to go about this either but this is our only option. We will get out of this together I promise" John gave a small smile "We have got out of worse situations than this remember when we had to take down that terrorist cell and it was me, you, and Keegan all undercover and they had us figured out and they stormed the safe house and we had to fight with our bare hands?"

"Yeah I remember" Donny nodded

"I thought we were going to die but we held our ground and fought with busted and bruised knuckles. You know why we got out of there?"

"Why?" Donny asked

"Because we had each other and we still have each other's backs. We will get out of this alive and together. The world will be a better place when we are done just focus on that." John smiled

Donny gave a small smile nodded "Alright thanks John"

"No problem and we will shut of the listening device and allow ghost recon to regain some ground." John nodded

"Alrighty" Donny smirked

John smiled and he walked out of the room. John was one of those leaders who could make anyone work together and bring out the best in anyone. He could get Oliver and Gustave to work together without an issue. The thought of he and his team failing lingered in the back of his head. He couldn't shake it no matter what he did.

 **1200 hours Oceanside, California**

Fletcher was sitting at the table with Meghan and her mom. He managed to actually get some restful sleep and he actually slept all the way through the night. They were talking about various topics. Erin had a strong interest in Fletcher it was like an interrogation she was asking about his service in the military and all of the things he did as a kid. She was trying to get an idea of where he came from and his heritage. Meghan was powerless in stopping her mother from asking questions that may have crossed the line.

"So Fletcher have you had any girlfriends?" Erin asked

He had a light shade of red come over his face. Meghan just looked away as she couldn't believe that her mother just asked that question.

"Yes I have but they weren't really serious" He felt awkward about answer the question. He took a sip of water

"Did you have sex with any of them?" Erin asked

He choked on the water and set the glass down as fast as he could he started to turn red from the lack of oxygen and embarrassment. Meghan's jaw dropped and she looked at her mom.

"MOM! Really?" She asked with her own face turning red

"What?!" Erin asked like she did nothing wrong

Fletcher had recovered some air in his lungs and he looked at Erin with a shocked and surprised face. "I would rather not answer that question." Fletcher answered still coughing some.

His phone started to go off. He didn't recognize the number. Erin and Meghan looked at him intrigued. His eyebrows furrowed. "Excuse me" he left the room

"Hello?" he answered the phone

"Is this Fletcher?" The other person asked

"Tell me who you are first" He spoke in a demanding tone

"This is Holt, I'm a part of Nomad's Ghost team. I need to talk to you about Nomad." Holt spoke in a somewhat worried tone

"What is it?" Fletcher asked

"Nomad is really shook up. I have never seen him like this" Holt spoke

"Ok, can I talk to him?" Fletcher asked

"Yeah here" Holt handed the phone to Nomad

"Hey man what's going on?" Fletcher asked

"Things are getting really bad here and I'm worried that I won't see my wife and kid again. I..I…I'm holding on to tight." Nomad sounded uncharacteristically nervous and worried.

"Hey hey relax take a breath. You still got your rifle?"

Nomad took a breath "yeah"

"You still got ammo, your boots, and your mind?"

"Yeah why?" Nomad asked with some worry in his voice

"Because an American operator with all of those things and their mind is the world's most badass shitkickin' weapon so what the hell are you worried about? You still have your team and your wits." Fletcher spoke

"I don't want my kid to grow up without me. I have already been gone for most of his life" Nomad looked to the floor

"Look Tony come on, you will see your wife and kid again you need to believe that and focus on that. Your team has been unstoppable ever since you got there. This is just a setback now do what ghost recon does best. Cause distraction, confusion and chaos."

Nomad nodded he still worried but he felt a little better. Even the best need a pep talk every once in a while. "Just hurry up and get down here so we can beat these fuckers back."

"I will your still going to have to give me a little time at least until the fifth or the sixth I promise I will be down there ASAP." Fletcher spoke with confidence

"Alright I will try and have a landing zone cleared for you." Nomad responded

"You get back to work 'cause I gotta go" Fletcher hung up and let out a sigh

He had never seen Nomad like that before so he knew Bolivia was getting worse. It angered him that Gustave forced him on this sabbatical. While he did enjoy some of the time off but he would rather be shot at and fighting terrorists and the cartel than sitting on his ass. He didn't know that Meghan managed to sneak up on him after the call ended but she could see the stress that he had.

"What's going?" She asked curiously

"Nothing" He responded

"Fletcher you know you can tell me anything right?" she ran her hand down his arm

"Yeah I know but I'm not ready to talk about this just yet ok?" he looked at her

She stared into his eyes Fletcher just melted he couldn't hide any lie from her even if he tried. He couldn't look away either. He was encapsulated by her emerald green eyes his heart began to race for no reason and for once in a very, very long time he had the desire to kiss. He couldn't explain it but the feeling was like a drug he couldn't get enough of this feeling. He really wanted to kiss her but it scared him because that would mean that they were more than close and he didn't want to have the same situation that he had with Hawg.

" _Just fucking kiss her you fucking pussy" His positive side spoke "Don't do it or things will end up like before" his negative side rang out "Who are you going to trust? The side that has kept you and your friend alive? Or the side that has only brought you pain and suffering?" His negative side continued. "Look man you have kept to yourself for way to long you need someone else to share this life with and she likes you and you know it." His positive side stepped in "yeah but the last time you fell in love with someone that worked the same profession died in your arms, you have already gotten to close to her" his negative spoke again._

Meghan waved her hand in front of his eyes. She broke him out of his trance. "Are you sure you alright?" she asked with concern

He nodded "Yeah" he rubbed his eyes "I'm fine"

She looked at him skeptically "I have never seen you zone out like that, please just tell me the truth"

She could see discomfort on his face. He exhaled and calm composure retook its place on his face. It took every fiber of his being to lie to her. He softly smiled "Yeah I'm fine"

She knew he was lying but she didn't want to push it anymore as she didn't want to upset him. She nodded "ok" she smiled

He walked out of the room. She shook her head and watched him walk away _"How long until he trusts me?" she asked herself_

 **1400 Hours New Hope, Ohio**

Mitchell, Jack, and Clair were all watching TV enjoying their time off. Mitchell was playing with his lighter thinking about going for a swim in the pond. Jack looked over at Mitchell he could remember the day Travis gave him the lighter. He smiled softly.

"Still play with that lighter huh?" Jack asked

"Yeah, I can't help myself sometimes." Mitchell continued to flip his lighter

"You are still the good luck charm man." Jack smiled

"Nah man the lighter is still the good luck charm why else would it have the clover on it?" Mitchell smiled

Jack chuckled "How many countries has that thing been in?"

Mitchell thought for a minute and counted "At least eight probably more." He chuckled softly "I'm going to go for a swim you guys are welcome to join me" Mitchell smiled

Jack looked to Clair. She thought for a minute and she smiled. "I don't think so but thank you for offer" she put her hand on Jack's thigh.

"Yeah I think I'm going to stay behind" Jack smiled and kissed his fiancé

"Suit yourselves" Mitchell smiled and he grabbed a draw string bag that carried his towel, sunscreen, and a pack of cigarettes.

He changed into his trunks and he got Hope out of her stall and he rode bareback to the pond. It was extremely secluded he could only hear the leaves ruffle as the wind blew through them. Every once and awhile he could hear a wood pecker peck away at a tree. He tied Hope off to a tree the rope was long enough that she could walk a little bit and graze on the grass. Mitchell wasted no time in taking his shirt off and diving into the pond. The thought of Tina popped right into his head. He wanted her out here with him. She would've loved to be out in the outdoors and he knew he could have coaxed her into the pond with him. Then he thought about her in a two piece bikini. That stirred something inside of him, he could almost perfectly envision her curves. He could see that smile of hers it was like a beacon in the night glowing brightly and never wavering. He chuckled at himself for being a love struck fool. After about an hour got out and he started to dry off he sat in the grass he loved it out here it was quiet and peaceful. It allowed him to clear his head and appreciate where he came from and everything he has. He smiled as he sat there just taking in the scenery. His phone went off he looked at it, it was Tina.

" _I hope you are enjoying your vacation, everyone misses you lol. I think I miss you the most. I was thinking when you get back and if we have time we should go on another date"_

Mitchell smirked and he took a selfie of himself and sent it to her mainly to get a rise out of her and to tease. _"I am enjoying my vacation, I wish you were here you would love it here. I would love to go on another date. I miss you too. Oh I hope you enjoy the picture. *Winking emoji*"_

Tina blushed furiously at Mitchell's picture, but she smiled. "If only he knew what he does to me" She softly spoke to herself she began to type. _"I very much so enjoy the picture. I wish I was there too it looks beautiful there."_ She smiled

" _It's nice and quiet. With trees filled with green leaves and the forest creatures running about. It's peaceful a nice alternative to being shot at. If you were here it would be a much more beautiful sight"_ Mitchell smiled big

Tina continued to blush she sighed with a smile _"Why must you make me blush?"_

Mitchell chuckled _"Because I can *laughing emoji* Plus it's cute to watch you get flustered I can see it now your cheeks burning a bright pink and you are trying to cower away so no one will see you."_

" _You are such a jerk you know that?"_

" _I can stop anytime you want me to you just have to say something"_ Mitchell chuckled

" _No don't stop I like getting compliments from you even if you do tease me afterward"_ Tina smiled

" _That's what I thought lol"_

Tina smiled and shook her head she just as much of a love struck fool as he was _"I have to get in the simulations so I will try and talk to you later. Enjoy your day dear"_

Mitchell smiled _"You have fun and enjoy your day"_

Mitchell sighed and laid back on the towel as he watched the clouds go by. He was at peace. He let out a small sigh he loved being in the outdoors especially when he could envelop himself in the sounds of the forest or woods. He could feel himself slowly falling asleep as the sun warmed his body. Hope wasn't about to let that happen so she stood over him and gave a soft whinny. Mitchell just chuckled and stroked the side of her muzzle before he packed up and rode back to the house.

 **1900 Hours Hereford**

Sebastian was still recovering from his injuries caused by a certain spook woman. He was walking to the rec room. He past one of the empty rooms in the dormitories. He was grabbed by the collar of his shirt into the room. It was dark so he could barely see his captor. He could make out a silhouette of a Brazilian woman. He chuckled softly.

"What are you a double agent?" He chuckled at his own joke.

She sighed "Seb I'm sorry I lost my cool yesterday please forgive me" She looked to her hands as she toyed with her fingers

"It's alright I should have defended myself better." Seb gave his smile

"Seb please forgive me" Taina spoke with some desperation as she didn't like showing her emotional side

"Alright I forgive you" Seb couldn't stop smiling

"Thank you Seb" She gave him a hug avoiding his busted ribs

He was a little stunned by the gesture but he wrapped his arms around her. He couldn't stop himself from smiling. He was the first person on Rainbow other than Vincente who had seen even a portion of Taina's emotions. He felt a small amount of honor that she trusted him in anyway aside from being on the field. Taina broke away and looked at him and pointed a finger in his face.

"If you tell anyone about this I will hurt you much worse than I did yesterday, got it?" She spoke with authority and seriousness

"I cross my heart" Seb crossed his heart with his smile

"Good you can leave now" She pushed him out the door

Seb fell on the hallway floor. Tina looked at him in confusion. "What were you doing in there?"

"Nothing" Sebastian smiled and walked away into the rec room

Tina's curiosity made her look in the room she turned on the lights and she saw nothing. She shook her head and carried on. Taina stepped out of wardrobe that was in the room and skulked away with no one noticing.

 **July 4, 2018**

 **0000 hours Oceanside, California**

Everyone was asleep in the Castellano household. Fletcher was having a dream that wasn't a night terror. He was in an odd place he couldn't describe it. The land was open there was a road that cut through the desert. He looked to the open sky trying to figure out where he was. It wasn't hot either which through him through a loop. He walked down the road. He heard a car coming down the road he turned. He recognized it in a heartbeat. It was a powder coat Marlboro red '69 Camaro. It had a matte black racing stripe going down the center of the car. It pulled up next to him and it stopped. There was a man in the car he had deep brown hair with icy blue eyes he had a beard.

"Well are you going to get in or what?" the man gave a toothy smile

Harding stepped into the car and shut the door. He felt the need to cry. It was his dad he was filled with regret and guilt. He missed his dad they were as close, very close. He looked to his father with awe.

"H…Ha…How are you…here?" Fletcher asked baffled

"I want to talk to you son" His dad spoke "I am a figment of your imagination that's how I am here, anyway I know that you have been through a lot since I passed. You have lost a lot of good friends and I know about Hawg. I'm sorry about all of it."

Fletcher was completely lost he couldn't believe that he was seeing his dad again. He missed the part about his dad saying that he was a figment of his imagination. He was speechless.

"Look son, I love you and your mom does too even though she disowned you. I know that you couldn't be there at my funeral. I know that you were busy saving the world" His dad chuckled "Your mom knows it too."

Fletcher could feel some tears push their way out. "Dad I'm sorry I couldn't come home. I really wanted to come home but my CO wouldn't let me mainly because I was on mission"

"I know son, look just listen to me" His dad looked at him

Fletcher nodded

"From a young age I noticed that you were a fixer. You could fix anything from a car to a broken person. Look at what you did with Mitchell you took him from a delinquent to a respectable man. You fixed a lot of people whether you knew it or not. You did it with Travis he was nervous and he broke down when you were in Libya. You stepped up and you and put him and the team back together. You did it with Nomad. There is one thing that I noticed that didn't develop until your later years. That was the fact you are afraid of fixing yourself. You are living in fear. You are acting a lot like my dad when he got home from nam' he was scared and he acted a lot like you are now. Afraid to get close or make a connection to someone outside of a small circle. He died alone and scared. I don't want that to happen to you. You need to take that leap of faith."

"I'm afraid that I will lose her like I lost Hawg. I don't know if I would be able to handle that again. I don't want to lose any more friends." Fletcher began to cry

"I know, but you need to trust me and your instinct. Be with Meghan she has a strong heart, soul, and will. She will help you rebuild. If you won't do it for yourself, do it for me." His dad smiled

Fletcher nodded and smiled softly as the tears came out of his eyes. "I love you dad and tell mom I love her too."

His dad smiled "I will son" he stopped the car "I need you to get out, where I am going I can't take you with me. Remember what I said son and do it for me" His dad gave that toothy smile

Fletcher gave him a hug before he got out. He watched as his dad disappeared into a cloud of dust. He sat on the ground and contemplated what his father told him.

 **1000 hours Oceanside, California**

It was absurdly hot outside so the air conditioner was working overtime. Meghan and Matthew got a chance to spend some quality father daughter time as they went and got breakfast together at their favorite restaurant in the area. Meghan and her mom went shopping for their celebration as Matthew's brother Jamie and his family were coming over. Matthew and Harding were working on his Cougar in the Garage. They were making a lot of progress. The garage was relatively cool as they had a small window air conditioner running. Fletcher and Matthew were elbow deep in the car. Matthew saw this as a good time to get to know him.

"I bet this brings a lot memories back" Matthew spoke with a smile

Fletcher smiled "Yeah it does." He managed to break a nut loose with a grunt. "Only if it were me and my dad we would already had the engine completely tore apart."

Matthew smiled softly "Meghan really seems to like you"

"Yeah?" Fletcher responded as he took out the radiator

"She speaks highly of you, but I do have to ask. What are your intention with my daughter?" Matthew asked fairly calmly

Fletcher looked him dead in the eyes in a non-intimidating way. "Sir, I honestly don't know. I have been trying to keep my distance ever since I was stationed at the base. I have lost a lot friends and one of them was going to be a girlfriend but she was K.I.A. I haven't gotten close to that many people to since then. Meghan has been forcing her way into my life. I can't stop her like I normally do with other people. It's like something inside of me is telling to let her move in closer. It didn't help that the doctor on base forced me to take a sabbatical with her whether I liked it or not. If you are worried about me hurting her or something like that. Don't be, I will do whatever I can to keep from hurting her. If I do I will come back here personally so you can kill me or do whatever you have to."

"You have done this before haven't you?" Matthew asked with a smirk

"Yeah I have" Fletcher gave a soft smile

"Look here son, if you want to date her go ahead I won't stop you. You are a good guy, I know that because you have shown nothing but respect for me, my wife and Meghan." Matthew continued to smile.

"You are the first father that I know that is ok with me being around their daughter." Fletcher gave a soft chuckle

Matthew chuckled "but if you hurt her I will kill you."

"I know, sir and that's why I will never hurt her." Fletcher smiled

"Good" he smiled

 **1200 Hours Bolivia Itacua Province**

Nomad and the rest of the ghosts were riding heavy to take out a Santa Blanca installation. They slowly crept up to a back entrance. They equipped their suppressors. The installation was holding some advanced weaponry. It was going to deal a massive blow to the cartel if they could take it. The rebel's that weren't captured or dead would take the base for themselves. Nomad deployed his drone and he started to tag all of the hostiles. Some of them were wearing white military gear with a very distinct red arm band with a skull on it.

"There are 15 hombre's with 10 LMB mooks to back them up." Nomad spoke with more confidence than yesterday

"I'll take out their eyes first" Weaver lined up one of the snipers in his crosshairs

"I'll take the one on the west wall" Holt lined up his sniper

"On three" Weaver spoke "One…two…Three"

They took down their snipers simultaneously. Nomad walked in quietly with Midas right behind him. Holt and Weaver were holding down the front gate to make sure no one else showed up. Nomad had his Sig P227 out. Midas had his Five-Seven out they slowly pushed in. There were to LMB guys on patrol in the base.

"Man does it feel good to be out of New York" one spoke

"Yeah it does, now we don't have to worry about those Division fuckers or the Cleaners lighting us up in flames." The chuckled

Nomad and Midas came up behind them with coke wires and they choked them out. They quietly moved over to one of the garages they hunkered down behind one of the cars. Nomad used hand signals to signify three sicario's. Midas nodded they popped up and shot the sicario's. Their handguns were extremely quiet thanks to the suppressors. Holt and Weaver slowly made their way into the perimeter of the base. They snuck up on to a group of LMB that were eating lunch there were five of them. Luckily they were sitting down at bench tables and they were sitting in two rows. Weaver and Holt nodded they popped up. Weaver fired his suppressed M14 the bullet travelled through three of the soldiers while Holt took out the other two.

"Cafeteria is clear." Holt spoke quietly

"Move to the hangar and take out anyone you can." Nomad spoke in a hushed tone.

"Roger moving" Weaver chimed in

"Midas, me and you are going to take the living quarters." Nomad spoke

Midas nodded. They made their way to the tents and there were five sicario's guarding the area. Midas and Nomad split up. Midas chucked a rock to get two sicario's to move. He ran up and plunged his knife into the neck of one. Before the other could react he shot him in the face. The other three turned hearing the fight. Nomad took the three out in rapid succession. Everything was going according to plan. Holt and Weaver were making their way into the hangar. One LMB mechanic was working on the Chopper that was inside of it. There were three Sicario's on guard.

"You take the two on the right I will take the other two. On my go" Weaver looked to Holt

"Got it"

Weaver lined up two in his sights he waited patiently for the two to line up for him. Holt was a little on the anxious side as he didn't want to get spotted and be chased by the LMB and Unidad. The two that Weaver was waiting on finally lined up and he fired one shot neutralizing the targets Holt went full auto and took out the other two. They were still undetected.

"Move to the primary building we are going to kick in the front door." Nomad spoke

The ghosts snuck up to the main building the leader of the base was on the top floor. Only three sicario's were in their path. The ghosts stacked up on the door.

"We breach on my go" Nomad prepped to kick in the door.

Midas and Holt moved to the front as they were going to be the first into the building. Weaver was going to stay back as a supportive role. They gave a nod signifiying they were ready. Nomad kicked the door down. The sicario's were caught off guard by the action. Midas and Holt chucked two flashbangs into the door after the four explosions they rushed in the building. Midas chalked up the first sicario, Holt took out the second one. The third was too hopped up on drugs to be thinking straight so he ran right at the ghosts with a baseball bat. Weaver sent one round through the sicario's head. They travelled up to the top floor the LMB officer barricaded himself in his office.

"COME AND GET ME ASSHOLES." He yelled at the top of his lungs

"Oh we will" Holt smiled

"Midas get c4 on the door" Nomad commanded

"You got it boss" Midas responded

He took a brick of C4 and he set it on the door

"Breach" Midas detonated the C4

Nomad rushed in. A round from the deagle that the officer was using zipped by Nomad's head. Nomad tackled the officer to the ground. He took the Deagle and chucked it out the window. Nomad got him off the floor and stood up. He had one arm wrapped around the officers neck he wasn't ready to choke him just yet.

"Now you are going to tell us everything you know jackass" Nomad pressed his handgun to the officer's head.

The officer chuckled "Why should I tell you anything?"

"Because I might let you walk away from this life." Nomad spoke with an intimidating tone

The officer laughed "You don't have the balls to kill me even if you wanted to."

Nomad shot the officers leg. The officer yelped in pain. "I'm going ask nicely one last time"

"Tell me everything you know." Nomad put the barrel of the gun into the fresh bullet hole expanding the wound

The officer groaned in pain. He gritted his teeth. "Ok, lets-" His sentence was cut short by his head exploding into pieces. Nomad was covered in blood and brains. His beard had small chucks of brains in it.

"FUCK" Nomad yelled wiping his eyes so he could see

"You should've seen that coming Ghosts" a voice called on their radio's

"Who is this?" Holt spoke into the radio

Weaver was scanning the hill tops close by to the base.

Anubis chuckled "You will find out soon enough"

Anubis fired another round striking the back of Midas's vest. Midas fell to the floor. He wasn't dead or bleeding but his vest was shattered and useless.

"I will give you a clue to who I am though. I am a god of death." Anubis chuckled

Weaver spotted him on one of the hill tops. Weaver fired a quick burst of rounds from his M14. Anubis laughed as he jumped off the hillside breaking line of sight.

"You only missed by a few hundred yards there my friend." Anubis chuckled as he disappeared into the lush forest "Til' next time my friends"

"Holt pop a flare letting the rebels know this is cleared." Nomad kneeled next to Midas

Holt shot a green flare into the air signifying that the base was clear. Nomad put his hand on Midas's back.

"You alright?" He asked

"Yeah just that's going to leave a nasty mark" Midas gave a slight groan in pain

"At least you aren't covered in brains." Nomad smiled softly as he picked the chunks of brain from his beard.

"I think it's best we get out of here before he comes back" Weaver spoke

"Bowman, we are exfilling to itacua echo to rearm and get some grub." Nomad nodded

They picked Midas up off the floor and they made their way to the chopper and flew it back to the safe house.

 **1700 Hours New Hope, Ohio**

Mitchell was making some of his homemade fireworks in the garage. They were made out of cleaning supplies. Jack and Mitchell's dad were on the grill making hamburgers. Clair and Mitchell's mom were relaxing on the couch watching tv. Mitchell was having fun mixing the chemicals. There was an annual celebration at the Packston household most of the small community would come by and set off fireworks and get drunk and have fun. They could see fireworks from the nearby town celebration. It had been a while since Mitchell had been to this celebration so he was excited. He had the feeling something was missing though. His mom came in to check on him and she sat next to him.

"Are you excited for tonight?" His mom asked with an excited tone

"Yeah it has been a while since I have been home to celebrate the fourth" Mitchell smiled

"It's nice to have you home for a change, I miss you when you aren't here" His mom hugged him

"I miss being home because I don't get deer burgers" Mitchell smirked as he teased

His mom smiled, she could tell something was bothering him based on his tone. She looked at him "Is everything alright?" she asked

Mitchell knew that he couldn't lie to his mom "I feel like something is missing, I don't know what it is."

"Well I remember that every time we had one of these you always had a lady friend here." His mom looked at her adopted son she examined his face looking back over the years and how much he had changed.

"That is true" Mitchell nodded

"You want Tina here don't you?" His mom smirked

Mitchell smiled "Yeah, I wish she was so you and dad could meet her. I like being home and all but I want to be with her." He looked to his mom

She just smiled and hugged her son. She didn't say a word. Mitchell gave a soft chuckle and returned the hug.

"You will make her a happy woman Mitchell." His mom spoke

"Well I am going to try my best to make sure she is happy" Mitchell smiled

"Finish up in here our guests are going to be arriving soon" His mom smiled

"Alright mom"

His mom went back into the house. He let out a sigh as he thought of Tina he wished that she was there with him. He heard cars and voices from other people showing up. He quickly gathered his things and went inside.

 **2100 hours Oceanside, California**

The fireworks show had started for Oceanside. The display was being shot off from Camp Pendleton. The faint echoes of the music from the display could be heard it sounded like _born in the USA_ by Bruce Springsteen. The display could be seen from the Castellano household Matthew, Erin, his brother Jamie and his wife were on the roof so they could get a better view. Meghan and Fletcher were watching from the roof of the porch. Meghan was enjoying it. Fletcher on the other hand was in a little bit of a panic. He knew that there was no danger but his mind differed, he kept reaching for his handgun. He didn't have on his thigh as usual. His eyes were dilated and he was breathing heavily. Adrenaline was pumping through his system, his heart was racing. He was waiting for a hostile to jump out of now where. Meghan could see the distress in him she looked at him and she put her hand on his forearm.

"Breathe Fletch" She spoke softly and she inhaled audibly through her nose so he would mimic her.

He mimicked her and he looked into her eyes. His heart was pounding still but his breathing started to stabilize.

"You are ok Fletcher, There is no danger here. Relax" Her voice was smooth as silk and calming

He closed his eyes and took a large breath and exhaled. "I'm sorry" He spoke, he hung his head

"Fletcher it's ok, you don't need to apologize for something you can't control."

"Yes I do need to apologize because every time I act up it puts everyone I'm around in danger. I really don't want to hurt someone because of it. I would also really hate to hurt you." He looked at her

"Fletcher I know you could never hurt me even if it was your PTSD." She continued to speak in a soft calming tone

He nodded "I guess you are right" He wanted to change the subject to a lighter one "I can't remember the last time I was home for the fourth"

"I'll bet it feels weird not having your CO telling you what to do" She smiled

"Well really it feels weird not doing something to the CO to get back at them for something" He let out a small huff of amusement

"What do you mean?" She looked at him quizzically

"Me and Mitchell would always pull pranks on our CO because we got bored" He smiled softly

Meghan smiled at him and she softly shook her head. He stared at her softly with a smile. Her beauty was unmatched as her hair shimmered every time a firework would go off. The shadows and the colors of the explosives danced on her face. Her eyes would light up with the ordinance. He couldn't get enough of the view. She stared at him with a smile. His hair blended in with the darkness aside the few locks that sat on his face. His eyes seemed to glow in the darkness, they were only accented by the fireworks going off. She imagined his balaclava over his face and at how terrifying it would be to see that appear out of thin air. Those thoughts quickly left her mind as she saw the smile on his face grow. She loved his smile it wasn't often she saw it unless it was faked. This was genuine she had a warm feeling wash over her. He had the same feeling, his heart began to race. There was a particularly loud firework that broke their stares. They looked to the display but they glanced at each other with a smile. They watched the display while snagging glances of each other. After an hour and a half the fireworks was finally coming to a close the grand finally was starting. Erin had to come inside to get a few more drinks. She looked out the window that Meghan and Fletcher were outside of. Erin could see them stealing glances of each other, She smirked as a fabulous idea popped in her head. She ran and grabbed her camera she shut the flash off and she waited patiently. Meghan and Fletcher looked at each other.

" _Do it for dad he asked you to do it for him" His loyalty side spoke "Don't do it you will lose her just like Hawg listen to me" his negative side spoke "You want to be with her it's time to stop living in fear and you know it. Just do it kid" his positive side chimed in. He heard a voice that wasn't his jump into the debate it was his father "Trust her Son be with her follow your heart and ignore the negatives. She will help you get better son please quit hiding behind your fears, be brave my son."_ He could almost see his father smiling. He gave a big smile

" _Please don't push me away Fletch, Please let me in." She spoke to herself_

The two moved closer to each other. The rest of the world fell silent to them. Even the barrage of explosions from the fireworks display. They could only hear their hearts racing with excitement, nervousness, anticipation, and a little bit of fear. They stared into each other's eyes seeing if the other would turn away. They inched closer and closer until they were caught in each other's embrace. They looked each other in the eye. She put her hands on the sides of his face and she pulled him down to her and they kissed. It was a long passionate kiss. Erin snagged a quick barrage of them kissing with the fireworks going off in the background. They finally broke away and they both smiled at each other. He put his hands at her waist. They were speechless they didn't know what to say or do except stare into each other's eyes. Erin smiled at the two.

"So Meghan should I tell your dad that you have a boyfriend?" Erin softly chuckled

The two turned a bright red. They both still had smiles plastered on their faces. Meghan took a breath and she looked to her mother.

"Not right now" was all that Meghan could muster.

 **0023 hours Oceanside**

Meghan and Fletcher managed to break from each others embrace. The entire family spent the last few hours having some good laughs. Erin couldn't stop smiling at her daughter or Fletcher. Fletcher and Meghan couldn't stop snagging glances at each other with playful little smirks. Eventually they helped clean up the house and say good bye to Matthew's brother Jamie. Everyone was heading to bed. Fletcher was sitting in the guest room that he had been using as a dorm. He was sitting on the floor with his journal on his lap he was looking out the window at the moon while beating his pen against the top of the book. He didn't know what to write he was still in awe of the events that occurred earlier. Meghan was heading up to her room she peeked into Fletcher's room. She sat next to him with a smile. She was in her usual sleep ware of a tank top and hot pants. Only this time the tank top seemed to be a little tighter fitting than the rest.

"Can't sleep?" She asked

He just smiled "Maybe a little."

"What are you writing about?" she asked

"Nothing right now. Meghan I do need to say something" he looked to her

" _Please don't tell me you are married or some shit" she spoke to herself_

"It has been a long time since I have been in any relationship with a female. I know that you have been chasing after me ever since I joined the team and I wanted to ask if we could just take things slow. I don't mean like a snails pace but I don't want to rush anything ok?" He looked at her

She let out a soft giggle "Yes Fletch we can take things slow if anything makes you uncomfortable just let me know."

"Ok, We should probably go to bed tomorrow is going to a long day and flight" He couldn't stop staring at her

"It's already tomorrow Fletch" She giggled

He shook his head with a smile "Ok, Today is going to be a long day and flight. Better?"

"Yes much better" She smiled

"Goodnight Meghan" He smiled

"Goodnight Fletch" She kissed his nose before she went to her room

He sat there and smiled for a few more minutes before he crashed out on the bed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day the next few weeks were going to be quite busy.


	18. Chapter 18: Welcome to Bolivia

**A/N: Hey guys so I finally got this chapter done and I think you all are ready for the Bolivia chapters after the slow home bound chapters. I'm still dealing with finals and the holidays so please be patient with me on the next chapter. I greatly appreciate that everyone is reading this tory I hope you are enjoying it. I'm ready for Wind Bastion and I hope Kaid keeps his third electro claw. Here is the Start of the Bolivia chapters. Please let me know if I missed any mistakes. Don't be afraid to leave a review or PM me. Enjoy!**

 **A/N (12/7/18): Hey I made some edits to this chapter that add a little bit more detail. I cut away a few lines of Dialogue that were kind of pointless to the story.**

 _ **Chapter 18: Welcome to Bolivia**_

 **July 5, 2018**

The ops that went home were finally heading back to Hereford. Jordan was excited because he will see Eliza again. He was still going to miss being home but he missed his redheaded lover more. Meghan had a hard time saying good bye and there were some tears shed between her and her parents. She really didn't want to go back she wanted to spend a little more time with her mom and dad. Fletcher was ready to get back in the field and cause some damage. He did enjoy meeting Meghan's parents and having some time off though he would never say that. Mitchell wasn't ready to leave either as he loved being home and not always being surrounded by soldiers and guns. He didn't cry but he showed some emotion before leaving.

 **0800 Hours London**

Somehow and by miracle all of the ops managed to land at the same time. Mike was there to pick them up and bring them back to base. Jordan was the first one to show up he had a grin on his face as he saw the old man.

"How is it going old man?" Jordan asked with a smile

"It's going good, Eliza has been kind of mopey since you left." Mike smiled at his younger counterpart

Jordan chuckled at the thought of his lover moping around base "Well that should change here soon."

Mitchell walked over to the old man he had a soft smile on his face as he walked up to the two. His duffle bag was slung off to his side at his knee. He gave a nod at the two giving a quiet hello.

"Did you see Meghan or Fletcher?" Mike asked

Mitchell shook his head "no, no I didn't but then again I was in a rush to get out of security. I don't like other guys examining me"

Mike and Jordan chuckled. Mitchell looked to Mike. "Has Lynch said anything since we left?"

"No nothing of great importance, he keeps saying that he is going to get out" Mike looked to Mitchell. Mitchell rolled his eyes.

Fletcher and Meghan arrived. Fletcher had his leather jacket on and his aviators he looked like he just stepped away from a movie set. Meghan had a glowing smile on her face she was happy to see her friends again. He had a more serious look but a smirk was on his face. Mitchell could feel a different aura coming from Fletcher. Mitchell smiled

 _"Well she finally convinced him and confessed" He spoke to himself_

"Are we ready?" Mike asked

They all nodded. They quickly made their way to the van Jordan took a seat in the passenger side. Mitchell took the far back seat. Meghan and Fletcher took the middle seats. The trip took a little longer than expected but it wasn't to terribly long. The arrived at base and mike went to return the van to the motor pool. Jordan was quickly greeted by Eliza as she was like a dog excited to see its own again after a long trip.

"I missed you so much" Eliza smiled hugging and kissing her boyfriend.

Jordan couldn't help but smile as he was bombarded with kisses and hugs. "I missed you too babe" He returned the kiss

Mitchell, Meghan, and Fletcher managed to squeeze by the lovers. They continued to walk to the dormitories.

"How was mom and dad?" Harding asked

"They are doing good dad is still working at the plant and mom is still lovely as ever. Jack was there as well. His fiancé is just delightful. He is doing good he is still doing shipping for Navy." Mitchell smiled

"That's good" Fletcher reminded himself to talk to Six "Hey I need to go somewhere I will catch up with you later" Fletcher jogged off towards Six's office

Meghan watched him run off. She couldn't take her eyes off of him a smirk crept up on her face. Mitchell chuckled

"So how did he react?" Mitchell asked with a smile

Meghan blushed hard "What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on I can see the way you look at him and the way he looks at you. Just fess up" Mitchell had a massive smug smile on his face

Meghan only blushed harder even her ears were starting to turn red. "He was fine with it, I think he is still a little scared. You better not tell anyone or else you will suffer the consequences" She gave a stern look at the end of her statement.

Mitchell chuckled and nodded "ok I won't tell no one just relax."

Mitchell and Meghan had split ways to their own dorms. Tina was already in Mitchell's dorm she was sitting on the bed with a smile. Mitchell walked in and smiled as he sat on the bed next to Tina.

"Did you miss me?" He asked

"Yes I did and so did everyone else" She hugged him tightly and looked into his eyes with a smile.

He wrapped his arm around her holding her close he gave her a kiss. "Anything exciting happen while I was gone?" he asked

"Not really" She rested her head on his shoulder looking up at him

"Except for zhe fact zhat she trapped in her one of her mats" Dominic peered into the room

"Knowing you, you probably deserved it" Mitchell smiled

"Yeah, you don't throw smoke grenades into someone's room while they are sleeping" Tina looked at him

Dominic just walked away. Mitchell smiled at Tina.

"I will get him back much worse than what he did to you" Mitchell started to formulate a plan

"What are you going to do?" She asked with a devious smile

"I don't know just yet" Mitchell gave Tina another kiss

As everyone was stopping by to say hi to Mitchell, Jordan, and Meghan. Fletcher was in the office building. Fletcher walked into Six's office with his duffle bag still on him. He sat down at her desk. He took his glasses off. Six looked at him with slight anger as he kind of walked in without knocking.

"Since you let yourself in, how was vacation?" She asked

"It was good, look ma'am I have an issue that needs to be dealt with right now. On July first the world renowned cartel boss El Sueno was sprung from prison and the white masks busted him out. The white masks are now backing the cartel. The team that I know that is in Bolivia is having a hard time beating the forces back and they need assistance. So I am asking you to give me, Mitchell, and De Luca operational clearance in Bolivia to assist." He maintained a serious look on his face.

" _Well that was blunt" she noted_

"How did you know about this? Why didn't you tell me about this before you left?" She asked curiously

"Like I said I know the team operating in Bolivia and their leader has been sending me bits of information while I was on vacation. I didn't tell you because you wouldn't have let me go down to Bolivia because of the sabbatical that you signed." His tone was serious he could feel a small amount of anger growing as he didn't liked to be questioned on more urgent matters.

Six sighed "Why De Luca of all people you two have an obvious history and from what I can tell it isn't a good history."

"Well ma'am me and her have a similar interest in Sueno and before you ask. No I can't tell you why we have share a similar interest because it is highly classified information. If you are worried about us not cooperating together, don't because in the field we will put our differences aside." He had a very serious tone "Also since the masks and the cartel are working together that means more trouble for us and law enforcement around the globe. If we neutralize the issue at it's home then we won't have to deal with it later on and we will be able to stop a major amount of Coke production around the globe as well. In fact there are more reasons to send us than not to."

She let out a sigh and twirled a pen in her fingers considering her options.

" _He is right, we would be able to stop more global catastrophes if they go down there. The issue is that tensions are already high between the ghosts and us right now maybe he would be able to ease the tensions as he does have a close connection to the team. I should probably send Taina, Meghan, and Emma with them as they have hands on experience in Bolivia. If they succeed it would give us more traction on Capitol Hill and in the UN we could get even more funding saying we took down the Cartel and I could get us more operators and high tech equipment." She pondered on the subject._

She nodded at leaned forward up to the desk. "Alright Fletcher I'll let you three go, however Meghan, Taina, and Emma are going with you they have hands on experience in Bolivia. You tell me when you want to leave."

He wasn't too excited about the other three coming but he wasn't going to fight on it. "I'm ready to go right now."

Six nodded "Assemble your team Fletcher. You are leaving here at noon"

"Will do ma'am, thank you." He stood up and gave a salute before he walked out

Six was one of the few CO's he respected mainly because she respected him and didn't treat him or Mitchell like complete shit.

 **0900 hours Hereford**

Aria was very frustrated because she thought Six wasn't going to listen to her about Bolivia. She was heading to the range to let some aggression out. She and Fletcher crossed paths she didn't even bother to look at him when she walked by. He looked at her.

"De Luca I have something I need to tell you" He spoke

She continued to walk on ignoring him. She strongly disliked Mitchell and Fletcher.

"Alright, guess you're not interested in taking down Sueno." He said casually as he turned his back and started to walk the opposite way.

She stopped dead in her tracks. She let out an agitated sigh and turned around. "You know I'm interested in that, so talk" She spoke in a slightly aggressive tone

"Six approved to give me, you, and Mitchell operational clearence in Bolivia. Meghan, Taina, and Emma are coming as well." He had a small smirk on his face

"When are we leaving?" She asked

"Twelve hundred hours so get your gear together." He nodded before walking off

Aria smiled as she was finally going to get her revenge on Sueno. He was the one who was sending slaves to the crime family that she was undercover with. He was also part of the reason the GIS was called in to deal with the crime family. She cracked her knuckles she quickly made her way to her dorm to gather her fatigues and pack her bags. Adriano saw her packing her bags.

"Where are you going?" He asked with his signature smile

"Bolivia, I'm are going after Sueno, this time we are going to bury him" She looked to the giant

He closed the door behind him and he pulled her close by her waist and kissed her. "You be careful out there and don't do anything to risky" He smiled at her

She looked at him with an endearing smile "I will and I won't"

"Good" He smiled

Fletcher came to Mitchell's dorm where he and Tina were making out. He knocked on the door really hard. Mitchell looked to the door Tina really didn't want to stop so kept going.

"Just ignore it" she spoke breathily as she went back to kissing him

"Mitch you better get your damn pants on and get your kit." Fletcher spoke

Tina groaned "Just ignore him he will go away" she whispered and she covered his neck in kisses

He chuckled softly as she kissed his neck "Where are we going?" Mitchell responded as Tina couldn't keep her hands and lips off of him

"Bolivia, Tina I'm sorry but I'm going to need him" Fletcher took a shot in the dark as he didn't know if Tina was actually in there or not.

Tina flushed red and groaned as she buried her head in his chest. Mitchell smiled "When are we leaving?"

"Noon, hey I also need you to tell Meghan and Emma. Six wants them to come as well."

"I can do that" Mitchell responded

"See you soon" Fletcher went to find Taina

"Do you have to go? You just got back." Tina whined

Mitchell chuckled and stroked her hair "Yes I have to go, when I get back I promise I will spend all of the time I possibly can with you and we will go on a date."

She sighed and laid on him for a few minutes. She really wanted him to stay so she could spend more time with him.

"Do you want to help me pack and gather everyone else?" he asked and kissed her head.

"I guess" She responded in an unenthusiastic tone

The two love birds climbed out of his bed and started to scour the base for Meghan and Emma. They went to the workshop knowing Emma would be in there as that seemed to be her area of living. She was working on the shield with Elena they were starting to get the final part of production for it.

"Hey Emma" Mitchell said looking over the shield with Tina right beside him

"hey Mitch" She responded not taking her eyes off of her note pad as she was doing quick math for the EFG (electric field generator)

"You need to gather your kit we are going to Bolivia we are leaving in three hours" Mitchell spoke looking to her

A small smile came across her face as she actually enjoyed being in Bolivia even though it was a hostile territory.

"Alright I will be there" She spoke finishing her equation.

Elena wasn't looking forward to finishing this shield on her own. Sure she wanted to finish it but she didn't want to deal with the last minute issues of producing the shield. She let out a small sigh.

"Don't worry I will have Masaru come help you" Emma spoke to Elena before walking off with Mitchell and Tina

"Who all is going?" Emma asked

"Fletcher, Taina, Meghan, you, De Luca, and I are all going." Mitchell looked to Tina and they shared another kiss

Emma broke off and went straight for the armory as she gathered her firearms. Mitchell and Tina went to Meghan's dorm. Her door was slightly open Craig was in there saying hello and explaining what Elias and Monika decided to do in her room. Meghan was a little frustrated that the two decided to have sex in her room. Mitchell pushed open the door and he leaned against the door frame. Craig turned with a smile and gave Mitchell a fist bump. Meghan looked at him.

"What is it Mitchell?" she asked

"Pack your bags again we are shipping out to Bolivia" Mitchell spoke

"I hope you are kidding" She had an unimpressed expression come over her face

"No I'm not orders from Six" Mitchell gave a soft smile

She let out a sigh of frustration "Alright"

"We book out of here at noon" Mitchell and Tina walked off to Mitchell's room to get fresh clothes and make out some before he left.

 **1230 hours somewhere off the coast of England**

The selected ops were making their way to the plane they had brought every gun in their personal arsenals. Mitchell even brought his Lar .458. Meghan was upset because she wanted more time to adjust to being back at base before being thrown back into the field. She sat next to Fletcher obviously. Taina was excited maybe too excited to be back in Bolivia she couldn't wait to show the Cartel who she was again. She sat there examining her knife and checking her pistol over. Emma was happy to be in the field again as she spent the past few weeks in the workshop, she toyed with her drone making sure it was fully operational. Aria was ready to deal with Sueno she wanted to tear him apart piece by piece. She sat back and she was going to try and enjoy the ride. Mitchell was just happy to see Nomad again. He put his head back on the rest and laid his M4 across his lap as he was going to try and take a nap. Fletcher was feeling the same as Mitchell but he wanted to bring Sueno to his own form of justice. Fletcher was holding his MTAR in his lap just checking it over as it had been a while since the last time he used it in the field. Meghan examined the rifle in her unofficial boyfriend's lap.

"That is quite a colorful weapon there" She said laying her head on the head rest behind her looking at him.

"Yeah it is isn't it" He spoke somewhat softly as he pulled back the action and looked in it making sure there were no oddities or foreign objects in the barrel.

"What do the tallies stand for?" she asked

Fletcher wasn't one to sugar coat the truth and that wasn't about to start now "Every scumbag terrorist I have killed with it." His expression was stone cold

Normally she would have been a little fearful but she had a rough understanding of what he had been through so it honestly didn't surprise her. Well it did make her feel a little uneasy but not enough to startle her as guys in her old SEAL team used to keep count. She noticed he had modified the weapon. It had a speed mag set up, there was an EPS3 holo sight with a G33 magnifier attached to it, and she noticed the compensator on it wasn't like the standard ones that the team uses.

"How long have you had that gun?" she asked curiously

He looked at her "Since I was accepted into the Delta Force, it's been around the block a few times."

"I can tell" She let out a soft yawn as she looked at him

He looked her in the eyes and they both smiled at each other. Emma quickly caught on and took a picture with her drone and she loaded the picture to her PDA on her wrist and then to her phone. She stifled a chuckle. Fletcher put his MTAR back in his pack and grabbed six SAT COM phones out of his pack and tossed them to the rest of the team.

"What do we need these for?" Taina asked

"Just in case if Jester shows up. He can't block out SAT COM transmissions so keep these charged and on you at all times." He wired his phone to his Chest rig.

"What all does his jammer block is it like Mark's?" Emma asked

"It's three times as good as Mark's. It can block drone feeds, standard com signals, if a device has a wireless connection to a tower anywhere then it will be blocked. So your drone will not work if his jammer is activated." Fletcher looked at her "That is if he hasn't made any improvements to the jammer since Redmond."

Emma nodded taking in what Fletcher said. Taina rolled her eyes as she never really liked to stay on the comms as most of the time it gave away her position to the enemy.

"I'm assuming everyone knows what the objective is" Mitchell looked around to everyone

"Yes" Aria was the first one to chime in

"Take down whatever is left of the cartel correct?" Meghan asked

"Correct, we are linking up with the Ghost Recon team in Bolivia and we are to assist with operations we will take down the cartel with them. Also the White masks are working with the Cartel and there is a third party involved it is unknown who the third party is so stay on your toes and be ready for anything." Mitchell nodded

Everyone nodded as they got their heads in the game. Taina was hoping it wouldn't be the same ghost team as before.

 **1700 hours Itacua Province, Bolivia**

Everyone had their masks on and their chutes on their back. The cargo door opened and the light turned green. They rushed out of the plane they formed a circle the wind hissed as they fell. They had their eyes on the altimeters once the needle hit 1,000 meters they ripped their chutes open and slowly descended into the lush forest that was a part of Itacua. All of the ops landed safely on the ground except Mitchell who got stuck in a tree which was a normal thing for him.

"God damn it" Mitchell spoke in agitation as he looked at his chute in the tree.

Everyone gathered beneath the tree he was in. Emma was trying not to laugh. Harding shook his head.

"Don't just look at me help me down" Mitchell looked to the ground

"How did you get stuck in the first place?" Aria asked unimpressed

"It always happens to him no matter where we go" Fletcher spoke as he dropped his pack and chute.

He climbed the tree and got by Mitchell. The others gathered their kits and set up a small perimeter around the tree. Fletcher pulled his knife. "Ready Mitch?" He asked. Mitchell nodded. Harding cut the straps to the chute. Mitchell landed with a hard thud. Fletcher slowly climbed down the tree.

"Where are we meeting the Ghost team?" Taina asked

"About 15 klicks to the North and don't stray away too far because we are deep in hostile territory." Harding said while loading a mag into his MDR

"I'll take point" Mitchell spoke up as he readied his M4

They followed Mitchell. The forest was rather quiet but they checked every tree and stump. Mitchell was starting to feel uneasy as it seemed rather quiet and there were no patrols. Little did they know they had a pair of eyes on them.

"Base this Zulu 2-3 I have eyes on six hostiles. There is one SEAL, a GIS operator, what looks like a GIGN specialist, A BOPE operator, and two unknowns." The LMB marksman spoke into her radio

"Zulu 2-3, Titan 4-1 is being directed to your position engage hostiles. Kingpin out"

All of the ops had weird feeling. All of the hairs on the back of Fletcher's neck stood straight up. He normally got this feeling when he was a part of counter sniper operations and the opposing sniper had their crosshairs on his hide.

"Stop everyone stop" He spoke in a hushed tone

No one moved a muscle as they looked around the forest. Mitchell kept his head on a swivel as he examined the path before him. Fletcher was looking through the tree tops looking for any signs of a trap. Twitch looked around in foliage that was to their right. Cav was looking for exit points so she get out of the situation if need be. Alibi prepped a prisma in case she needed to bail. Valkyrie was watching their rear making sure no one snuck up the path they took. The LMB sniper smirked as she started to line up her shot on Meghan who was in the rear. The sniper didn't have a clear sight but she could see just enough to place and accurate shot.

"Your mine sweetheart" The marksman spoke she pulled the trigger

The report of the rifle got everyone's attention. The round struck Meghan's plate carrier there was a loud ping from the round striking the metal. She fell to the ground with a grunt. The LMB patrol started to open fire on the team. They quickly dove behind the nearby trees. Wood splinters were flying everywhere from the rounds bouncing of the trees.

"RETURN FIRE" Fletcher yelled as he made his way to Meghan "CAV FLANK AROUND ALIBI GO WITH HER MITCH AND TWITCH (ha that rhymes) KEEP 'EM DISTRACTED"

Cav disappeared into the foliage behind them and Alibi followed close behind. Fletcher slid as he kneeled to Valkyrie's side. He dragged her behind a tree. He gave a quick examination he didn't see any blood or wounds.

"I'm fine plate caught it." Valkyrie spoke breathing heavily as she stood up

"Good" Fletcher replied before he dove to another tree

"KINGPIN THIS IS TITAN 4-1 WE HAVE ENGAGED THE ENE-" the leader of the squad was shot in the throat by Cav who lurked in the foliage. A smile crept up on her face

"SHIT O'LEARY IS DOWN" The second in command called to the rest of the troops "ZULU ENGAGE" he called over his radio

"MITCH LIGHT 'EM UP" Fletcher yelled

Mitchell smiled as loaded a fresh incendiary into the launcher. Twitch was watching him carefully as she reloaded her 417. Mitchell popped out from behind his tree and launched the grenade. The grenade was shot a little high the grenade detonated and caught a lot of the trees on fire. The tree tops began to burn, the cinders from the leaves fell to the ground and caught the grass on fire. The Marksman was quickly claimed by the fire. The wind was to the backs of the rainbow ops so the stench of the burning flesh was going away from them.

"FALL BACK, FALL BACK" one LMB mook shouted to the other three that were still alive.

Alibi threw a prisma down behind the soldiers. One of them noticed the figure.

"OH SHIT BEHIND US" they all turned and fired on the prisma Alibi chalked up two of them.

The third was separated from the other two. He had no idea of what to do. Alibi kicked the rifle from his hands and she grabbed him by his vest and dragged him into the open. The other ops stepped out from behind their trees that were now riddled with bullet holes and little to no bark. Cav stepped out from the bushes and joined the other ops who were looking at the LMB soldier. The forest fire was starting to get worse. Fletcher's training was kicking in. He roughly grabbed the LMB soldier by his vest, he picked him up and slammed him against a tree that wasn't burning. The soldier had fear in his eyes and Fletcher had the look of vengeance.

"Look here fuck face, You are absolutely meaningless so I'm going to give you some meaning tell your boss (Sueno) he fucked with a spirit from the past. Do you understand?" Fletcher spoke with calmness in his voice as the fire inched closer to everyone.

The LMB solider had a spark of confidence "Go to hell" he spoke with malice

Mitchell sighed "You shouldn't have said that"

The soldier furrowed his brow in confusion. Everyone looked at Mitchell wondering why he said that.

"You will burn before I do" Fletcher tossed the soldier into the fire

"SHIIT" the soldier yelled as his gear was becoming engulfed in flames.

"Let's move" Fletcher took point and the team followed him

"What about the fire?" Emma asked

"Nothing we can do about it, it will go out eventually don't worry about it too much" Mitchell replied

The team travelled quickly as the forest was quickly becoming ashes. Meghan was a little bothered by the scene that she had witnessed. Even though he was enemy he didn't deserve that, she thought they could have at least shot him first. She didn't like watching people suffer she really hated it when Six would make her watch Cav's interrogations for information as her victims would have the loudest screams she had ever heard. She blocked the thoughts out of her head so she could focus on the mission. They eventually reached Itacua echo. They didn't know if it was the Ghost safe house or what so they quietly approached. The forest fire was far enough away that there was no danger to the safe house.

"Twitch drone it out" Fletcher commanded

She nodded her drone entered under one of the doors. Holt, Midas, Weaver, and Bowman were visible. She didn't quite remember what they all looked like. So she just chalked them up as possible hostiles.

"Four possible tangos, what's the game plan?" she asked

"Mitchell and you are going to enter from the back door, Cav and Alibi you guys are going to enter through the windows, and Meghan. You and I are going through the front door. Don't shoot just breach, flash, and takedown. Don't kill anyone clear?" Fletcher spoke in an authoritarian tone

"Crystal" Cav responded

They all stacked up on their points of entry. Meghan softly cracked the door open she nodded to Fletcher. He prepped two flashbangs. "Breach" Fletcher spoke over the radio. Meghan smashed the door open and Fletcher tossed in his flashbangs. Mitchell and Emma did the same. All of the ghosts were caught off guard as they were blinded and they couldn't hear. Aria and Cav smashed through the windows. Cav grabbed Bowman from behind. Fletcher threw Midas to the ground. Mitchell took Holt down and Emma took Weaver to the ground. The rainbow ops put guns to the ghost's heads. Nomad came flying out from the bathroom with his handgun drawn only to have Aria take him to the ground. Fletcher didn't see Nomad so they maintained their posture.

"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!" Midas yelled

"You first asshole" Fletcher pressed his MDR to the back of Midas's head.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU BITCH" Bowman yelled she didn't know it was Cav but she knew it was a woman based off of the arms of her captor.

Meghan looked over to see Bowman she let out a sigh.

"Everyone stand down they're friendlies." Meghan lowered her MPX

"Are you sure?" Fletcher responded

"YEAH SHE IS FLETCH DAMN YOU" Nomad shouted from the floor

"They're friendlies stand down." Fletcher said getting off of Midas.

The Ghosts stood up in agitation as the ops backed off. Bowman turned around and she could feel hatred flow through her as she saw Cav. Meghan walked over to the two.

"Karen take it easy we didn't know if this was a safe house or an enemy position. We are sorry." Meghan spoke in a softer tone.

"Why are you here in the first place?" Bowman asked Meghan

"Because White Masks are involved and we are Team Rainbow and the masks are our specialty." Mitchell looked over to Bowman

"We didn't ask for your help Inferno" Bowman looked over to Mitchell

"That must make you spook" Fletcher chimed in

"No shit Ghost" She spoke with agitation.

Nomad looked at Bowman "I called them we need their help Bowman"

Bowman sighed in frustration. The room fell to a deafening silence it was awkward and tense as everyone waited to see what the other would do. Nomad decided to continue.

"Bowman they will help us so don't get your panties in wad."

Bowman let out another sigh "Fine but Ghost, me and Nomad are the ones in charge am I clear?"

Fletcher nodded and raised his hands to his chest to signify he was surrendering. Bowman looked around the room she recognized the other ops especially Cav. However, she didn't recognize Aria

"I know the rest of you but who is she?" she asked with agitation in her voice

"You can call Alibi or Aria that is all you need to know" her Italian accent came in quite strong

Bowman just looked away with frustration on her face. Hurk came out of one of the rooms calm as ever as if nothing happened

"Hey y'all what's goin' on?" he asked

"Who the fuck is that?" Emma asked as she had her 417 trained on him

"A dumbass redneck who flew down here for some reason" Bowman responded

Everyone quickly ignored Hurk. There was still tension in the room mainly between Bowman and Cav. Mitchell, Aria, and Fletcher could feel it they looked at each other and shrugged.

"How do you know each other?" Mitchell asked

"That's a story for another time" Emma quickly shut the conversation down

"Well, fill us in Bowman" Fletcher looked to the blonde

"Ok, Well the Cartel is working with the White Masks and the Last Man Battalion." Bowman started

"Vegas" Mitchell and Fletcher spoke at the same time looking at each other.

"What?" Bowman inquired

"That's a story for another time" Fletcher replied

"Anyways, they have managed to seize control over most of Bolivia except for here. They have either killed or captured most of the rebels that were assisting us with the cartel. They are still exporting massive amounts of Cocaine and people to other countries" Bowman continued

"What about the civilians?" Aria asked

"Most are hiding but they still live here and watch your fire out there." Bowman answered "Anything else?" she asked

No one answered and she sat down at the table clearly frustrated by the presence of the rainbow operators.

"We do have the location of a base that needs to be taken down we expect there to be a lot of Intel that we can pull out of it." Nomad spoke up

"They would expect that especially if they know you know where it is. So show me the map your have of Bolivia." Said Fletcher

Nomad pulled up his map on a tablet, he and Fletcher looked at it closely. Fletcher noticed a stronghold that was in a valley it was a stock pile of arms and munitions. It wouldn't be a major blow but it would hurt none the less.

"We'll hit the stockpile maybe we drown out some ammunition and some firearms. This way they will have to pull from other regions in Bolivia and it will use some of their funds to buy more." Fletcher pointed to the point on the map

Nomad nodded "Alright, let's get going"

"Mitchell and Meghan grab your gear we are on the move" Fletcher put his MTAR in one lockers that was in the safe house for the firearms

"What are we supposed to do?" Aria asked after looking to Taina

"Well I want you to find a lieutenant or an important person and bring them back here pry all of the information you can out of him. Twitch stay here and see what you can do about a new comms system" Fletcher responded as he was on his way out of the door.

Emma nodded. Aria rolled her eyes she didn't like that Fletcher took command but she knew they were all working for the same thing so she about to fight about it. She didn't mind working with Taina as together they could get a lot of information on their own. Taina knew where they could find an HVT. They mounted up in the chopper Mitchell and Midas were on the door guns Weaver was in the passenger seat of the chopper while the rest of the ops were in the hull. Nomad flew the chopper low and fast to avoid the SAM sites.

"When did you learn to fly a chopper Nomad?" Mitchell asked scanning the terrain for RPG's

"In Moscow we were in a tight spot so I had to learn to fly pretty quickly." Nomad smiled

Fletcher looked to Meghan "So what happened between Bowman and Taina?"

Meghan let out a sigh "Well a few months ago Taina went off the reservation and came here to free her little brother from the Cartel and well she got him loose after the Ghosts, Emma, and I helped out and well her little brother would give any of the information he had up it pissed Bowman off as she was about loose it. I guess she hasn't let go of it yet."

Fletcher nodded "that's why Six wanted you guys to come"

Meghan looked at him "What do you mean?"

"Well when I went to talk to her about coming down here I was just going to have Mitchell and Aria come with me. Six insisted that you three came with us and I wasn't about to fight over it." Fletcher grabbed his ballista off of his bag and attached a suppressor

"Why just you three?" Meghan asked

"Well I and Mitchell worked with Nomad before way back in Fallujah. Aria because she has a personal vendetta against Sueno. I also hope to end this rivalry with her by bringing her down here." He put a variable zoom scope on his rifle.

"What happened between you two anyway?" Meghan asked

"That's is a long and complicated story that all three of us have agreed not to tell as we could honestly end our careers." Fletcher looked her as he loaded a fresh mag of .338 lupa rounds.

"Oh" Meghan looked back out to the landscape

 **1800 hours Montoyac province Bolivia**

The LMB soldier from Titan squad made it back to the training grounds he had second degree burns all over his body and his gear was scorched ran to his CO's office. His CO was organizing the patrols for the next few weeks. The LMB grunt burst in the office breathing heavily and terrified.

"Shit what happened Ronny?" the LMB officer asked sitting Ronny down

"They…Ther…There" He could hardly speak

"Breathe son breathe" The officer spoke in softer tone and he inhaled through his nose loud enough for Ronny to hear and he exhaled through his mouth. Ronny mimicked him as he started to calm down a little.

"There were six of them and they picked us apart like nothing and started a forest fire. O…One threw me in the fire and he said that we fucked with a spirit from the past. He wore all black and had a skull balaclava" Ronny spoke in a slightly calmer tone

The officer's eyes widened as he knew who Ronny was talking about. He was there that night when Reaper team took out a large chunk of the LMB in Vegas all those years ago. He figured that they were all killed because Lynch said that they were dead. He didn't know Hades, Anubis, and Jester were a part of reaper team as he never heard their names spoke a loud. He could feel a fit of rage starting to build in him.

"Ok we need to get you to the medical bay and I need to talk to John" The officer spoke with haste as he went to find John

He escorted Ronny over to the medical bay so he could be treated for his wounds. John was playing poker with Keegan. He wasn't really good a poker but he didn't care he didn't have anything or anyone else to spend his money on. The officer calmly opened the door of the makeshift rec room. Making John and Keegan look at him.

"John one of my men came back and his entire team was killed except him and he came back with a message. That message was that we messed with a spirit from the past" The officer spoke in a calm tone

Keegan immediately went to go get his rifle but John stopped him.

"Ok, we will deal with it Kings just leave it to us because if it is who I think it is then it's best you leave it to us we are used to dealing with highly trained soldiers" John spoke in a calming tone

"No I want him you find him I'll deal with him" Kings spoke with a light trace of vengeance.

"Ok we will find him for you" John spoke calmly and sent Kings out of the room

John got Donny on the radio as he was at the ammo dump that rainbow and the ghosts were about to attack.

"Jester you there?" John asked with Keegan right behind him

"Yeah, what's up?" Donny asked

"Ghost is here in Bolivia so be ready for him and expect Inferno to with 'em" John said

"Got it, I'll keep my eyes peeled" Donny responded

 **1830 Itacua Province**

The ammo dump was fairly large with tents and weapon and ammo containers lying about there was a dirt road that cut through the center of the dump splitting it almost in two. There was a small cliff face that looked down into the ammo dump. There a few trees in the valley however it was more of a desert area from the cartel deforesting the area to store their weapons and ammo. Donny stepped out of the make shift command center they had there only to see two three bodies strung about. He quickly activated the alarm and turned on his scrambler. Blocking almost all of the radio signals out there.

"All teams we are under attack engage hostiles and shoot to kill" Donny said calmly over the radio

"Fuck cover is blown" Mitchell he spoke to himself he could hear the static in his headphones from Jesters scrambler. "Shit" he cursed under his breath as he could hear all of the enemy forces running around guns drawn. He worked a little faster on the explosive device that he was setting. Fletcher heard the alarm and he quickly stowed his Ballista and grabbed his MDR and descended down into the valley so he could bail Mitchell out. He turned on the SAT phone. "Valkyrie we need to bail Inferno out." Fletcher spoke as he was moving as quickly as he could

"I'm on it I'll find him" She spoke quietly as she moved in the shadows avoiding detection.

"Holt? Midas? Weaver?" Nomad kept trying to raise the other Ghosts on the radio but he was unsuccessful

Midas and Holt could not move as they would be spotted if the even tried.

"Fuck coms are down" Holt said looking at his radio

"No shit but we need to move before we're spotted" Midas responded

"Let's go to that shipping container" Holt nodded in that direction

"I'll go first" Midas took a quick breath and he sprinted across the open area

"There's one open fire" The White mask shot Midas in the leg

"FUUUUCKKK" Midas shouted as he started to pull himself to the container

Holt took his suppressor off and popped out from behind the corner and let off a barrage of bullets taking out the mask but drawing the attention from everyone else in the area. Meghan found Mitchell at the ammo dump itself. The gunshots echoed off the valley walls.

"Mitchell we need to get the ghosts and get out of here" Valkyrie spoke with haste as she watched to make sure no one was coming up on their six

"I know" He said with haste as he armed the explosives "They are on the south side we need to push around to get to them" Mitchell stood up as Valkyrie took out two masks

"You take the lead" Valkyrie looked at him

Mitchell and Valkyrie sprinted their way to the Ghosts to find Ghost with them he was keeping up the fire with his MDR ensuring they didn't get any closer. Mitchell made his way to Fletcher.

"YOU TAKE CARE OF HIM I'LL KEEP YOU COVERED" Mitchell spoke as many bullets were ricocheting of the shipping container some metal fragments were flying off the container.

"GOT IT DON'T LET THEM GET CLOSE" Fletcher replied as he went to Midas.

Valkyrie was with Holt as they would rotate when someone had to reload. Nomad made it to Holt and Valkyrie.

"ARE YOU GOOD?!" Nomad asked looking at Holt as he fired his M4 at the enemy who would not die

"THIS IS JESTER AT AMMO DUMP 4 WE NEED REINFORCEMENTS WE ARE UNDER ATTACK" Jester shouted into the radio

"Roger that Jester Charlie 2 is on the way to drop off more men" The command post replied

"ROGER JESTER OUT" Jester returned fire with his Bulldog assault rifle

Weaver found his way to Mitchell, Midas and Fletcher. He ran to them from behind but a stray round caught his lower abdomen

"SON OF A BITCH" He shouted as he put pressure on the wound.

"MITCHELL KEEP ME COVERED I'M GETTING WEAVER" Fletcher yelled

Mitchell continued to return fire as Fletcher dragged Weaver to the shipping container. He laid him right next to Midas as he started to work on weaver's wound there was only so much Fletcher could do as he constantly had look off to their six to ensure no one was flanking.

"FRAG OUT" A Mask yelled he tossed a frag at Mitchell's position

"GRENADE" Nomad shouted across

Mitchell fell back and was able to catch it like a baseball and threw it back as fast as he could and the grenade exploded in the air.

"FRAG OUT, GET SOME" Nomad tossed a frag and it managed to take five of the masks

The wingbeat of the chopper could be heard the ghosts and rainbow ops looked to the sky as the chopper flew over them and started to open fire on their positions keeping them pinned down. The chopper was dropping off LMB and Masks. The shipping container was no becoming covered in sliver dents. The rounds were ricocheting everywhere as they bounced off the container. A few rounds zipped over Nomad's head. He ducked down to avoid having his head taken off.

"DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT CHOPPER" Valkyrie shouted at Nomad

He could barely hear here over the miniguns. He stepped out only to dive right back into cover to avoid being killed.

"I CAN'T" Nomad shouted back

Fletcher kept pressure on Weaver's wound as he looked to Valkyrie. His heart skipped a beat he wanted to get over there and pull her out but he couldn't. He looked at Mitchell and Mitchell shook his head as they couldn't move without being picked off. Nomad was scared as he never kicked the hornets' nest this hard and they were severely outnumbered and there was no way to deal with the chopper without dying. Valkyrie was scared as well she didn't show it but she wasn't ready to die she wanted to be with Fletcher to assure him that they weren't going to die and she wasn't going to die like Hawg did. The LMB and the Masks started to push up to the position of the Ghosts and rainbow. Mitchell started to blind fire from around the corner to hopefully deter the enemy from getting closer. Nomad, Holt, and Valkyrie started the same thing only on a rotation. However the masks and the LMB continued to push. Metal fragments from the container were flying over and bouncing off Fletcher's helmet. They were stuck and death was staring them in the face. There was no escape this time.


	19. Chapter 19: Welcome to Bolivia (pt2)

**A/N: Hey everyone, my semester has ended so I should be able to get some more chapters out. Please keep in mind this is the holiday season and be patient if I don't have chapters out on a consistent basis. I went back to chapter 18 and made some edits to make the chapter a little better as I think it was lack luster in some areas. I don't have much else to say other than enjoy and let me know if I missed any errors. One last thing Happy Holidays- S117**

 _ **Chapter 19: Welcome to Bolivia (pt 2)**_

 **July 5, 2018**

 **1900 hours Itacua Province**

The ops were still pinned down by the chopper and the combined forces of the White Masks and the LMB. The shipping container that Fletcher, Mitchell, Weaver, and Midas were using was covered in sliver dents where the bullets were landing. Fragments of metal flew off the container Mitchell was blind firing his rifle from around the corner to keep the enemy from overrunning them. Fletcher was tending to Weaver and Midas to ensure they didn't lose any more blood. Midas wasn't too bad so he was helping Fletcher with Weavers wound. Valkyrie, Holt, and Nomad were doing what they could which wasn't a lot they would take turns blind firing from around the corner. They would swap out every time someone would need to reload. Spent casings littered the ground. Valkyrie tossed her nitro cell over the wall that they were cowering behind. She detonated it only being able to kill two masks. Some of the concrete was starting to break as bullets would strike the surface. Bullets flew through the air whizzing past the ops heads. Dirt was kicking up from where the bullets would hit the dirt. The LMB team and the Masks were slowly pushing up avoiding the incoming fire. The LMB and Masks were separated and across the roadway that cut the ammo dump in half. There was a visible worry on the ops faces as they weren't sure if they were going to make it out. Jester had already backed off the battlefield and out of the area as he figured the masks and LMB had the situation under control. The enemy inched closer and closer. While the enemy forces crept forward not paying attention to their surroundings, there was man who managed to remain undetected as he slowly approached from the top of valley. He watched from above as the fight ensued below him. The gunners on the chopper were too busy keeping the other ops at bay to focus on the man with a watch. He had on a NYFD (New York Fire Department) ball cap on. Followed by a MC Biker jacket (A black leather jacket, just using the in game item name), blue jeans, and a pair of Nike trainers. He looked to the chopper above and fired a sticky bomb on to the fuselage of the chopper. He detonated the bomb and with a fire explosion the chopper fell from the sky. The chopper flew into a million pieces.

"WHAT THE HELL?" a mask shouted looking to the sky only to have the tail of the chopper land on his left leg. Crushing it the bone was basically powder. He screamed in pain. His buddies turned and tried to get him free without cutting his leg off.

"I CAN'T GET YOU FREE" the mask replied

"THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" Mitchell shouted to Nomad who shrugged as Holt blind fired.

The Masks tried to free their friend while trying to avoid having their head taken off. The leader of the LMB had a few guys break off to check for who shot down their chopper. There was the sound of something rolling across the dirt there was a pop. The masks saw five projectiles fly in the air. The leader of the LMB knew exactly what that was.

"AIR BURST!" he shouted

It was already too late the projectiles had detonated engulfing the ground and the masks in fire. The masks screamed at the top of their lungs as the fire scorched their bodies, the smell of burning flesh filled the air. Valkyrie gagged on the smell she turned and threw up the pancake breakfast she had at her parents' house earlier today. Nomad and Holt were preoccupied and they couldn't check on her. The LMB leader closed his ranks and went on the defense he and his men took cover behind some of the rocks that were in the valley. Some of the others used weapon crates as cover.

"IT'S THE DIVISION BE ON YOUR TOES AND BE READY FOR ANYTHING" The leader shouted

The ghosts and rainbow ops stopped firing as they realized they were no longer at the center of attention they took this time to consolidate behind one piece of cover and that was the shipping container. Mitchell and Nomad were watching what was going on Valkyrie was trying to keep from throwing up again as the stench of burning flesh was still in the air. Holt helped Midas up in case they needed to run. Cadmen smiled when he saw the LMB cowering behind cover he prepped a shock 'nade. ISAC showed the trajectory through the contacts that Cadmen was wearing. He chucked the grenade behind a weapons container. The grenade when off and three LMB soldiers were on the receiving end of the grenade. Their muscles locked as the electricity flowed through them two were forced standing up. The other was behind a container thankfully. Cadmen peeked out and put the two LMB soldiers to bed with ease. The leader looked around trying to figure out where Cadmen was he looked around frantically. He heard another distinct sound. It was a turret the turret locked on to the closest target and opened fire it was absurdly loud the LMB soldiers could do nothing but wait for the turret to run out of ammo or the battery to run out. One LMB soldier rolled out of cover to try and reposition himself only to be met with thirty or forty rounds from the turret. They continued to cower. Cadmen descended down the rock face fairly quickly while the turret kept the enemy at bay. He grabbed his M870 and rushed in behind the containers. He took out the targets with one shot a piece. He took out 10 before he had to reload. He threw up the mobile cover and stayed behind it as he reloaded his shotgun. Mitchell was about to rush out, Nomad stopped him.

"He has a lot more firepower than we have and we don't know if he is a friendly or not just stay put" Nomad spoke softly as he watched from around the corner and put his hand on Mitchells shoulder.

The remaining LMB soldiers were peeking up from the rocks they were taking cover behind and they started shooting at the cover Cadmen had set up behind. Cadmen chuckled to himself

" _They never learn" he spoke to himself_

He reached in his bag and pulled out a tear gas grenade and he was able to quickly throw it from behind his cover. The grenade released the gas the LMB soldiers started to cough and wheeze they couldn't shoot because they couldn't see. They fumbled around trying to get out of the gas cloud. The rainbow ops and the ghosts could only watch in awe as Cadmen pulled the LMB apart as if it was another day in the week. There was a subtle orange glow coming from Cadmen's mask it was an orange circle close to his chin. The leader was the last one standing he was on the ground coughing still trying to get his bearings. Cadmen kicked the rifle away and stood over the officer. There was a silent exchange between the two there was not a single word spoke as the two stared each other down. The officer just looked at Cadmen he had nothing to say he just awaited to be blown to the other side. Cadmen was more than happy to grant his wish. Cadmen put his shotgun to the officer's head and pulled the trigger. There wasn't much left of the officer's head other than pebble sized portions of his skull. Cadmen took off his mask, clipped it to his bag and stowed his shotgun. He slowly walked to where the Ghosts and Rainbow was. There was one mask who was injured he stood up and raised his handgun. However Cadmen was much faster and he drew his 1911 and dumped two shots into the mask without really even looking at the mask as he walked over. Nomad and Mitchell were going to try and take him down while Fletcher, Valkyrie, and Holt would escape with the wounded. Nomad and Mitchell readied themselves for a brawl. Cadmen was about ten feet away from the container before he stopped and put his hands on his hips.

"You can relax I'm with you guys I have no affiliation with those fuck heads. Well, other than the fact that I kill them" said Cadmen

"We are supposed to trust you just like that?" Nomad asked

"Well I would because I would have killed you if I didn't want you around." Cadmen responded as he lit up a cigarette

"He's gotta point" Mitchell whispered to Nomad

"Drop your guns, your bag, and turn around with your hands in the air if you are a friendly" Nomad ignored Mitchell

Fletcher and Meghan got Weaver and Midas ready to evac. Meghan was still trying to hold down her vomit as the valley had an ungodly scent to it. Cadmen sighed, he did as Nomad asked. After Cadmen had his back to the ghosts. Mitchell and Nomad approached with their M4s at the ready. They made a slow approach to the agent. Nomad threw Cadmen to the ground and zip tied his hands behind his back.

"That's a fancy watch sir" Nomad mocked

"My name is Cadmen and if you take that watch I will have to kill you" Cadmen spoke

"Right" Nomad spoke in a mocking tone as he stood Cadmen up "Grab his shit" nomad spoke to Mitchell

Mitchell picked up his bag and guns. They walked back to the battered shipping container. Meghan and Fletcher looked at the agent.

"Wait a minute, we are taking the guy who bailed us out in as criminal" Fletcher spoke as he looked to Cadmen.

"It's only a safety thing Ghost" Nomad responded

"Let him free because obliviously he would have killed us all if he wanted us dead and with the way he took the LMB and the Masks tells me that he isn't affiliated" Fletcher responded

"Can we discuss this away from this scent?" Meghan asked as she gagged at the end of her inquiry.

Nomad nodded the eight of them trudged out of the valley to the chopper that they flew in on. Fletcher set Midas in the seat and he laid Weaver on the floor of the chopper. Meghan got in the chopper and she was taking care of Weaver making sure he didn't go into shock. While Fletcher, Mitchell, and Nomad stood outside with Cadmen still in his binds.

"If you let me loose I can help them" Cadmen spoke

"I'm not letting you close to them until I know who you are." Nomad called Bowman

"Bowman I need you to run name through Interpol" Nomad spoke into the phone

"What's the name?" Bowman asked

"Cadmen" Nomad looked to the man in question for his last name

"Rockwell" Cadmen spoke loud enough for bowman to hear

"Give me a minute" Bowman quickly punched the name into her laptop.

After 5 minutes Bowman came back on to the line. "He is a former PMC with two degrees in criminology, a masters in Electrical engineering, and a doctorates in psychology. No arrests, no outstanding warrants, and he was a volunteer firefighter in NYC. His current occupation is a therapist in Chelsea of NYC he makes quite a living off of it. May I ask why you made run the name?"

"I'll explain later, Nomad out" Nomad hung up and cut Cadmen loose deeming him somewhat trustworthy. He still didn't fully trust Cadmen.

"You pack a lot of heat for a former PMC" Midas skeptically chimed in

Cadmen looked to Midas "What does it matter?"

"All I'm saying is that you have a lot of high tech and destructive gear for a civilian" Midas looked at the agent.

Cadmen took his gear back from Mitchell "One thing I can tell you is that the LMB is packing the same type of gear"

"What do you know about the LMB? You just encountered them" Holt chimed in

"I can't tell you that, all I can say is that they were in New York" Cadmen responded

"Fuck, you're a part of Directive 51, right?" Fletcher spoke as he threw his hands down

"Bingo" Cadmen smiled

"What's directive 51?" Meghan asked looking at the group from the chopper

"All I know is that it's highly classified and it has to do with sleeper agents. It was activated when New York went under." Fletcher looked back at Meghan

Meghan just shrugged as that really didn't answer that question. Weaver groaned as a surge of pain washed over him. He had everyone's attention.

"We need to get back to the safe house and give him proper treatment for his wound" Meghan looked to the group

"It's good I'll patch them up here" Cadmen spoke

He reached into his bag and pulled out a flattened support station. Nomad trained his rifle on Cadmen. Mitchell slowly pulled the rifle down and shook his head at Nomad. Cadmen walked over to the chopper and dropped it on the floor. It quickly deployed he could see the area of effect with his contacts. The nanites quickly began to repair Weaver and Midas's bullet wounds. Meghan shook her head as if to wake herself up as the wounds closed right before her. She couldn't believe it, neither could Weaver or Midas as they watched in awe and it was painless. Fletcher, Nomad, and Mitchell couldn't believe what they were seeing. Cadmen just laughed at all of their faces. They all looked at him as he laughed but they just figured that he was used to seeing that. After their wounds resealed themselves Cadmen looked to everyone who were still awe struck by the fact he was essentially printing human tissue.

"There is a prison camp about fifteen miles from here that is holding a lot of the rebels. If we free them it could help us out in taking back Bolivia. I'm going regardless if you six are coming or not" Cadmen put the support station back in his pack

"We should all go as it we would have less of a chance of getting pinned down or getting taken out by the cartel and its allies." Holt spoke up

Meghan, Fletcher, Mitchell, Weaver, and Midas nodded in agreement. Nomad didn't like that this mystery man just showed up and everyone trusted him. He wasn't going to fight on the topic as he was severely out manned and he would lose the debate. He rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses and told everyone to mount up. Cadmen got in the passenger seat of the chopper so he could give the directions. After the chopper was a safe distance from the ammo dump Mitchell triggered the explosives he set up causing the dump to become a ginormous fireball. No one even bothered to look at the explosion as they were all focused on the agent. Curious as to why he was here in Bolivia, Fletcher was the most curious. He knew a few things about the division but it wasn't much he knew that they were US based and that a few of them went rouge and that they could only be called in by the president. That was about as far as his knowledge went on the division. What he didn't know was that he and Mitchell had to take a few rouge agents out in Russia but they didn't know they were division agents.

 **1930 hours San Mateo province**

The sun was setting and it was starting to get dark. It was just dark enough for night vision. Nomad set the chopper down about five miles away. Cadmen led the way to the prison camp. They settled in on a hill that over looked the camp. Those who were guarding the camp knew nothing of the Ammo dump attack and were going about their nightly routine. The ghost and Rainbow ops had their night vision on. Fletcher had put a night vision attachment to the scope on his ballista so he didn't have to wear his night vision goggles. Mitchell and Meghan had on the EVNG mark three. Nomad and his team had the same thing as Mitchell and Meghan. Cadmen's contacts switched to night vision so he could see. They all looked to prison Nomad threw his drone up he started to tag and count the hostiles. ISAC patched Cadmen into the drones feed and marked all of the targets. ISAC was able to map out a route into the prison and to the guy with the keys. He could see all of the cartel members and he could only think of his wife and his kid.

 _ **Flashback…**_

 **December 3, 2014**

 **2:00am Chelsea borough New York City**

Cadmen's wife, Maria, had been up all night watching the news concerned about the looters that were all over the city their son was soundly asleep. Cadmen was out foraging for supplies he had just returned after nearly being killed a few times. He snagged a few first aid kits and some canned goods. While it wasn't much it was enough to get by for a while. He walked back into the apartment. Maria ran up and hugged him tightly she had a few tears coming from her eyes. Cadmen returned the hug and looked at her.

"Why are you crying babe?" He asked, softly running his hand up and down her back

"I thought you weren't coming back" She looked up at him with tears streaming down her face.

"Maria you worry too much" a soft smile came over his face as he looked at his wife "I was able to get us a few things. Some beef stew, soups, Chicken and Dumplings, and some medicines with bandages." Cadmen laid the goods out on the counter

She had a very small smile on her face "That's good" was all that she was able to reply with

"Sweets I need you to pack your bags and Ben's bags we need to get off the island" Cadmen looked to her with slight worry

"Why? Why do we need to get off the island?" Maria asked with confusion

"It's getting dangerous here and they are going to seal off the island here soon, so please do as I ask" Cadmen hugged her and stared into her eyes

She quickly nodded and ran to their bedroom and she started to pack her clothes with some for Cadmen. Cadmen went into Benjamin's room (their son) and started to pack his clothes. After a few minutes there was a ruckus on the floor below. They heard a women scream followed by a few voices in Spanish. Cadmen looked to the door of their apartment, his heart started to pump adrenaline through his veins. Benjamin was awakened by the scream.

"Daddy, what's going on?" he asked, tiredly turning in his bed, looking to his father

"We are going to grandmas in a little bit buddy. Go back to sleep" Cadmen smiled and looked at his son

Ben had a smile form on his face. As he loved going to his grandmother's. He laid his head back down to sleep. Cadmen continued to look at the door he was worried that the attackers down stairs were going to come up to his home. His heart beat only got faster and faster as he kept all of his focus on the door.

"Cadmen?" A voice called out

He looked around trying to figure out where this voice was coming from.

"Cadmen!" The voice called followed by a hard shove

 _ **Flashback ends…**_

He snapped out of his trance he took in a large breath before looking around realizing he was in Bolivia. Everyone looked at him as he pulled his thoughts and mind together.

"You good?" Midas asked

"Yeah I'm good" Cadmen assured

Nomad was skeptical of Cadmen's answer. "As I was saying, Cadmen you will go with Valkyrie and Inferno and secure the prisoners. Me and my team will take care of the guards in the secondary buildings. Ghost and Weaver will be out eyes. Let's move"

The teams broke off, Fletcher and Weaver started neutralizing targets quietly and quickly. Their suppressed rounds hissed through the cool night air. They started with the snipers and worked their way down to the patrols that were just outside of the perimeter.

"Your way into the building should be clear, we will pick off any stragglers." Weaver spoke into the radio

"10-4" Nomad replied

Nomad, Holt, and Weaver started to move towards a storage building, as Valkyrie, Cadmen, and Mitchell pushed into the prison itself. The prison was dark and cold comparable to a dungeon. The floor was consisted of a cold and rough concrete. The bars on the cells were begging to rust over. There was a leak in a few of the cells, each drop of water resonated throughout the floor. However, there were no prisoners on the first floor. ISAC kept the motion tracker up on Cadmen's contacts he slowly raised his hand and closed it into a fist telling Valk and Mitchell to stop. The sicario's came around the corner only to be met with the suppressed rounds of Cadmen's LVOA-C. They continued on through the prison they came to a stairwell. Cadmen looked at Mitchell and Valkyrie and pointed to the stairs that went to the basement. They nodded, Cadmen went upstairs he slowly and cautiously ascended there was an armory on the second floor. ISAC scanned every weapon and gave a readout on Cadmen's contacts. Most of them were ACR's and cheap M4's there were a few handguns in the mix. One weapon that caught his attention was M32-MGL the weapon of choice of the LMB grenadiers (pronounced Gren-a-deer). He pulled it out of the locker and he stuffed a few of the grenades in his pack before going to the third floor he saw a bunch of sicario's sleeping peacefully. An evil smile of revenge grew on Cadmen's face as he adjusted his turret from the active sensor to the dragon breath. He threw the turret out into the center of the room and the turret locked on and began to spit fire at the sicario's. The sicario's stumbled and fell out of their beds in a panic as the turret started to light them on fire. Cadmen waited on the second floor for them to run to the armory. Some of sicario's started to jump out of the windows. The flames quickly caught Fletchers attention.

"Shit, main building hostiles coming out the windows." Fletcher spoke to Weaver who quickly turned

"Holy shit"

They started dumping rounds down range tagging the sicario's that bailed out to avoid being set on fire. Cadmen's smile remained on his face as he picked off every sicario that tried to make it to the armory. He was enjoying this a little too much.

Mitchell took point down the stair well Valkyrie followed close behind as she peered over Mitchells shoulder. The sound of a heavy fist on a slab of meat could be heard down the halls. There were a lot of rebels in the cells, some were sitting in the corner of their cells others were walking around. There was very little light coming from the few lamps that were in the halls between the cells. The rebels in the cells could only make out silhouettes of Mitchell and Valkyrie. Mitchell and Valkyrie could faintly hear the sounds of panic upstairs but they didn't know what was going on so they moved a little faster. As they moved down the halls the impacts of the fist on whatever it was only got louder they could hear the grunts of the victim. They followed the sound to a closed door. The two stacked up, Mitchell set up a breaching charge. She nodded at him. Mitchell detonated the charge. There were three people in the room, there was an LMB lieutenant, a mask, and the last one was a beaten and battered Wrench. The mask and the LMB officer were caught off guard by the explosion. They fumbled for their guns. Valkyrie took out the mask while Mitchell took the LMB officer and put him in a choke hold. The officer fought Mitchell the best he could but it wasn't enough. The officer past out from the lack of oxygen. The floor had a lot of blood on it, Wrench had many bruises and blood on his face he had been starved and given minimal water over the past few days. Valkyrie kneeled in front of Wrench's chair and looked at his face.

"They were really working this guy over" she spoke as she grabbed his chin and slowly moved his head to the left and the right examining his face.

His white hair was now a soft red almost pink from the blood. His left eye was badly bruised and he had blood coming from his mouth.

"I…swear…I…..don't..know…anything" Wrench spoke softly as he was hoarse.

Mitchell looked at him, "Free him and get topside I'm going unlock these cells and freeing the rebels, then I will get up top with this cock bag" Mitchell kicked the lieutenant's legs

Valkyrie nodded as Mitchell grabbed the master key off the lieutenant and got started on opening the cells. Valkyrie untied Wrench she picked him up only to have him yelp in pain. Valkyrie kept them moving at a steady pace. Again, Valkyrie was greeted with smell of brunt flesh. She fought to keep from vomiting again. She threw Wrench into a fireman's carry and sprinted out of the prison. Fletcher watched behind her to ensure that no hostiles were following.

"Where is Inferno and Cadmen?" Fletcher asked as he put a round through the chest of a sicario that jumped out a window.

"Inferno is in the basement freeing the rebels and Cadmen was last seen on the third floor" She replied into the radio

Nomad and his team were at the front gate. Valkyrie came to the gate and set Wrench on the ground. He coughed up a little blood and he clutched his ribs. Maybe two or three minutes later there was a mass exodus of rebels. It was a stampede they ran as the building behind them was engulfed in flames. They started to grab some of the guns off the ground which were a couple of AKs and 805 Brens. There were a few sicarios who weren't picked off in the main assault. The rebels made short work of them. Mitchell was in the rear carrying the LMB officer. He arrived at the gate and he threw the LMB officer on the ground without care.

"Where is Cadmen?" Mitchell asked the group

They shook their heads as they looked past the gate to see the building on fire. The flames quickly spread to the ware houses that were close by. They figured he died and the teams started to pack up and leave. Just as they were about to depart from the gate Cadmen had arrived with blood and minor scorch marks on his jacket.

"Wow, just leave me behind why don't ya" he smiled

"Where in the hell were you?" Nomad asked with agitation

"I was keeping the rest of the Sicario's busy so they didn't rush into the basement and trap the rebels and your friends." Cadmen wasn't happy with Nomad's tone

"You could have at least told us where you were" Nomad responded getting a little more heated

"I don't know if you could tell or not I was kind of busy" Cadmen replied with anger getting into his voice

"It only takes two seconds to signify where you are even in a gun fight" Nomad stepped closer

Wrench coughed up more blood and groaning in pain. Meghan looked at Cadmen.

"You wouldn't have one of those box things available would you?" she asked

"No it will take it a while for it to recharge, we do need to get back to the safe house before anyone else shows up to investigate." Cadmen responded

Nomad just ended the discussion as everyone made their way back to the chopper. Fletcher and Weaver were already at the chopper waiting for everyone else. Without a word everyone mounted up and they started on their way back to Itacua. It wasn't a long flight, however it was tense. Wrench was in bad shape. Fletcher was working on him the best he could, he gave him some water from the camel back that he had brought. He wrapped his head in some bandages and he sealed up on of the cuts above Wrench's eye. Meghan watched as Fletcher worked, he was in full medic mode. She had only seen a little bit of this nurturing side in Chicago, only this time he hadn't been blown up and he didn't have a concussion. She liked seeing him like this, the look in his eyes reminded her of a dad patching up their kid after he skinned his knee or something. Mitchell smiled as he remembered being at Fletcher's fights and how the medics would tend to his victims and sometimes to Fletcher. Fletcher finished patching up Wrench for the most part and he sat next to the hacker.

"How long did they have you down there?" he asked

Wrench looked at him "a few days" he replied, he had gotten some strength back but his voice was still very weak

Fletcher nodded "You look kind of thin do you always look like that or did they starve you?"

"Starve"

"Well you will have eat lightly for the next few days until your stomach gets back on a regular schedule. I need you to drink a lot of water but slowly because your body is still in survival mode and isn't ready for regular consumption of anything."

Wrench just weakly nodded taking a light sip out of the camel back. Nomad set the chopper down nice and easy. Fletcher carried the lieutenant Mitchell choked out into the safe house. There Midas, Weaver, and Holt walked between Nomad and Cadmen to ensure nothing would happen. Mitchell and Meghan helped Wrench out of the chopper and into the safe house where Bowman was waiting patiently. Emma had at least started to get a comms system together. Aria and Taina had already gotten a high ranking Sicario. Taina had already started working him over while Aria did what she could to help Emma. The team walked back in and Fletcher looked at Bowman.

"Where do you want this?" He asked lightly bouncing the lieutenant on his shoulder

"In the back with the other" Bowman pointed down the hall

Fletcher nodded and proceeded down the hall and dropped the body on the floor for Taina. The ghosts came in right after Fletcher, with Cadmen in tow. Bowman looked at Cadmen.

"Who in the hell are you?" she asked

Cadmen raised his watch for Bowman to see. "Cadmen Rockwell"

Bowman knew what the watch meant but she couldn't discuss it with everyone else around as the Division is so highly classified. She gave a nod of approval to him. Cadmen smiled and walked over to Emma's table and he had ISAC give him a diagram to make an unbreachable coms system.

"I can do this myself" Emma replied without looking up from the table covered in commo gear

"I'm just trying to help" Cadmen took the receiver and pulled a small battery from his pack and attached it to the receiver.

"Why did you do that?" Emma asked

"Because it will boost the abilities of the radio receive signals and it will supply power to the unit. Just so you know I do have a degree in electrical engineering" Cadmen replied as he continued to put the radio together.

Emma just rolled her eyes and continued to work as she wasn't about to turn away help even though it sounded like she was. Aria walked into the back so she could help Taina. Meghan and Mitchell walked in with Wrench and they slowly set him down on a couch. He grunted as they slowly leaned him back.

"Who is he?" Bowman asked

"He is the one who asked me to fly him down here" the southern graw cut through the air as Hurk stepped out from the garage that he was forced to use as a sleeping quarters.

Bowman looked to the beaten man on the couch. "Why did you want to come down here?" She asked

Wrench looked at her "there was…a lot of…radio…chatter" Wrench who is normally talkative was having trouble forming a sentence.

Fletcher walked back into the main area. "Just take it easy." He looked at Wrench then to Bowman "Bowman look he has some serious trauma and he has been starved and beaten he needs time to recuperate some before we start questioning."

"He has vital information that we need Ghost so I will question him whenever I feel like it." Bowman retaliated

"Bowman, you won't get a lot out of him today he needs to rest. You can ask Nomad or anyone and they will agree with me I know you are in charge but when it comes to medical issues I outrank everyone her-"

Bowman cut him off "Ghost we don't go by a standard command structure, Just because you are a Captain with extensive Medical training doesn't mean a lot. He needs to give up everything he knows right now before the Cartel changes things up." Bowman didn't like it when people would challenge her leadership

"Bowman come outside with me" Nomad grabbed her by her arm and pulled her outside.

"Karen look Fletcher knows what he is talking about and you know it, give that guy some time to heal or at least get his voice back. Fletcher wouldn't fight with you on the subject if it was an enemy. You wouldn't want to talk after being beaten up and starved for a few days or even weeks. Let the man rest." Nomad was trying to keep some peace within the organizations.

Karen sighed "Alright, fine but if any information is off and it gets someone killed it's on you" She stabbed his chest with her finger

"That's fine, now tell me about Cadmen. You obliviously know something I don't" Nomad demanded

"I can't tell you as your security clearance doesn't go high enough and you aren't a part of the organization he is in." Bowman replied

"Ok, can we trust him?" Nomad asked

"Yes you can trust him, he is a major asset and will be a huge benefactor with his expertise and tech." Bowman responded a little more calm

There was silence and a nod between the two before they walked back into the safe house.

"I would suggest that everyone get some sleep, Fletcher do what you can to make sure that he will live" Nomad spoke pointing to Wrench "What is your name anyway?" Nomad asked Wrench

"People call…me Wrench" he looked to Nomad

"Ok, there is going to be a nightly rotation. Mitchell and Fletcher you will be up first and rotate every three hours so everyone can get some sleep." Nomad spoke loud enough so everyone could hear.

The Ghosts wasted no time settling in and getting to sleep, Cadmen told Emma to get some rest as he could take care of the comms system. There weren't bunks but there were a few couches and chairs that they could sleep in. Meghan took one of the chairs, while Emma and Aria had to share the couch. The ghosts used their sleeping bags to sleep on the floor. Taina was having a little too much fun with the Sicario to go to sleep. Mitchell walked around the perimeter of the safe house while Fletcher took care of Wrench by getting him into a cot and making sure he was somewhat comfortable. Bowman had her personal bed that she had been using for almost all of her stay in Bolivia. Everyone slept somewhat peacefully as the sounds of the woods filled their ears.


	20. Chapter 20: A New Player Enters

**A/N: Hey guys and gals. I first want to apologize for taking so long and not notifying you on what was going on. I was on break and I enjoyed not having to do anything I know you guys can relate. Second I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year. I have started classes again so please be patient with me on newer chapters. I hope that it won't take me a month to produce another chapter but we will have to see how everything goes. Third I'm going to make Mitchell a little shorter i'm taking him from 5'9" to 5'7" just it makes him a little bit more of a powerhouse. lastly i hope you all aren't to aggravated with me for being inactive. Again I'm sorry about that. I know the Bolivia chapters have been just kind of the samething of taking a base and passing it off to the rebels. I'm going to do my best to break away from the repetitiveness of it. Anyways i have rambled on long enough. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and don't be afraid to leave a review or PM me with questions, errors I missed, and criticism. Enjoy!**

 _ **Chapter 20: A New Player Enters**_

 **July 6, 2018**

 **0800 Hours Itacua Province**

The morning sun was finally making its appearance over Bolivia. The sky was clear and no clouds to be seen. Fletcher was getting some shut eye as he had spent almost all night taking care of Wrench. He was crashed out on one of the couches. Mitchell was also getting some sleep he was on the same couch as Fletcher. Emma and Cadmen had finished the new comms system. He had implemented some of ISAC's algorithm into the system that would keep Jester out of their comms. They were drinking some coffee just taking in the silence of the safe house. Meghan took a large breath as she woke up in the chair she looked around taking in her surroundings. She straightened her hair a little before standing up and stretching. Taina had been awake all night she had got quite a lot of information out of the Lieutenants after she used her naturally pervasive techniques. She was relaxing in the back room she used for the interrogations. Aria rubbed her eyes as she stood up from the other couch. Her hair was a little mangled but she didn't care all that much. The Ghosts had been up for a few hours Nomad and Bowman were listening to the recording of interrogation that was on Emma's drone picking out the bits and pieces of information. They had earbuds in listening as they didn't want to disturb anyone. Midas and Holt were patrolling the nearby areas talking to some of the locals. Weaver was cleaning his M14. Meghan walked over to the coffee pot and poured herself a mug she took a sip before joining Cadmen and Emma.

"Morning" she spoke quietly

They nodded to her with smiles as they sipped on their coffee. Aria cracked her neck before she put her hair up in a bun and walked over to Nomad and Bowman. She watched the footage and she tapped on Nomad's shoulder. He turned and faced her.

"Finding anything" She asked with a yawn

"Yeah, a few bases and coke production plants. They also mentioned something about a training camp and a few more ammo and weapon dumps." Nomad looked at her

She nodded quietly and leaned back on to the wall with her arms crossed as she silently watched the interrogation, over Nomad's shoulder. Wrench looked much better now that he had fluids in him and something to eat. Meghan who was now standing with Cadmen and Emma. Meghan looked at Fletcher she couldn't figure out why, but she enjoyed watching him sleep. Even though it was kind of stalkery. She smiled looking at him. Mitchell finally woke up and rubbed his eyes followed by a yawn he looked at his brother and tapped his shoulder.

"Fletch get up"

Fletcher softly turned but didn't wake up. So Mitchell gave him a good shove. His eyes snapped open and within the blink of an eye he had drew, cocked, and aimed his handgun at Mitchell. His breathing was heavy yet stable. The room was tense for a moment.

"Damn it" He lowered the hammer on his gun and holstered it "You know better than that Mitch" He looked to Mitchell who just smiled at Fletcher and laughed some.

"Yeah I know but I didn't expect you to be so jumpy after being here for a day" Mitchell just smiled

Fletcher just shook his head as he stood up and went over to Wrench's cot and gave him a quick examination. Wrench's skin was a normal color however his face was starting to show more bruising. It wasn't terrible but he would have problems seeing and talking. Harding looked to the IV that he started in the middle of the night to see the Morphine was half way drained, there was still a few hours left in it. He stood up from the cot and poured himself some coffee before looking out the window there was a plume of smoke out in the distance from the forest fire that they started yesterday. After hearing the stirring in the main area Taina decided to join everyone. She avoided eye contact with anyone and she leaned against the door frame of the hallway. Nomad and Bowman finished watching the interrogation and they quietly discussed on the next target. They decided they would hit a Motor pool that housed a lot of Unidad vehicles, including choppers and APCs. Nomad looked at everyone.

"Cadmen, Fletcher, Cav, and Twitch mount up" Nomad grabbed his Remington R5 and loaded a fresh mag

Cadmen grabbed his M700 Carbon and threw it on his back. He still carried his LVOA-C. Emma took her 417 and her .357. Cav really only needed her pistol but she decided to take her M12 with her. Fletcher took his Ballista, instead of taking his MDR he opted for his MTAR. It wasn't long after they took off in the chopper Midas and Holt returned they walked into the safe house with smiles seeing everyone was finally awake.

"What has you guys so happy?" Bowman asked

"Oh, the local rebel leader said that he saw a cartel shipment of drugs and civies in Caimanes and they are planning to export here in a few hours." Midas chirped

"I think you guys need to get to work then" Bowman responded "Meghan I'm going to put you in charge" Bowman smirked

Meghan nodded "Mount up, one of you ghosts can lead the way and fly the chopper."

The last five walked out of the safe house. Meghan took her MPX she was also bringing her Spas-12. Alibi carried her MX4, Mitchell took his ACR instead of the M4, and the ghost carried their respective loadouts.

 **Flor De Oro Province**

 **0900 hours**

Nomad set the chopper down softly a mile or two away from the Motor pool the team got out and slowly made their way over to the outer wall without being detected. The sound of impact wrenches, grinders, and other power tools could be heard over the wall. Nomad threw his drone up. The feed was choppy.

"Fuck they're jamming the drone" Nomad recalled the drone

Without a command Twitch tossed out her drone which seemed to operate perfectly fine. She took it all around the base which wasn't as well guarded as they thought. There were a few look outs and sentries but that was about it the rest were mechanics busy working on the various vehicles. There were a few radios playing DJ Perico's broadcast. She knocked out the alarm system and a few of the radios that could get a signal to other forces beyond the base. Her drone remained undetected by anyone.

"I was able to get the alarm system and a few radios so they shouldn't be able to get back up. There is a BMP in the main garage" Twitch spoke as she brought her drone back to her

"Wait a minute how does your drone work but mine doesn't?" Nomad asked

Twitch thought for a minute as she didn't even think about it "I honestly don't know"

"Could we discuss this later?" Fletcher asked in an annoyed tone and slightly shaking his head. The both remained silent. "Cav, you and I are going to take the main garage and work our way through."

Cav nodded and they broke off from the squad. Cadmen walked to the main gate with Nomad and Twitch in tow. He noticed a code lock off to the side of the gate. He darted to it he managed to stay hidden. ISAC began to fry the system and the gate opened. Twitch picked off the lookouts that noticed the gate opening. The Unidad soldiers were none the wiser of the intrusion. Cadmen, Nomad, and Twitch pushed in through the main gate. Fletcher and Cav managed to jump the wall. The BMP-3F was in the center of the garage there were two mechanics quietly loading up the BMP with ammo. Cav looked to him and he nodded before cloaking. Cav and him snuck up on the mechanics. They stealthily and quickly took out the mechanics. Fletcher did a quick scan of the room. The garage was clear and he looked to Cav.

"Cav do you know how to operate a weapon system on a tank?" he asked

She furrowed her brow, she looked at the BMP and smirk came across her face. "No, but I'm sure I can learn"

Fletcher smiled. They dropped into the BMP. Cav closed the hatch and locked it. Fletcher explained the basics of the weapons system to her as he fired up the weapon and guidance systems. Cav had the basics so she could switch between the main gun and HMGs.

"Ready?" Fletcher asked settling into the driver's seat.

She nodded. The Russian Diesel engine came to life, while it wasn't the fastest thing there it sure as hell was the most weaponized. He dropped the vehicle into high gear, the engine went from a subtle idle to high RPM as it was ready to move. The Unidad soldiers outside the garage were confused and they open the door only to be mowed down by the PKT machine guns. The other soldiers quickly caught on and grabbed their rifles they scrambled to the main driveway. They opened fire on the BMP the rounds were bouncing off the armor plating. The other three ops were confused as to what the hell was going on.

"Ghost what the hell is going on?!" Nomad called into the radio as they took cover behind a storage house.

Fletcher turned on his radio the sound of rounds ricocheting off the armor plating. The sound of the PKTs could also be heard "You know that BMP?" Fletcher asked

"Yeah" Nomad responded

"We're in it, almost all of Unidad is focused on us if you can take out the ones going for the choppers and RPGs I would appreciate it." Fletcher continued to focus on the enemies ahead.

"10-4 We will take care of it." Nomad replied

Nomad and the others went to the small airfield on the base to deter the pilots from going to their choppers. They hid behind the tool boxes that were out on the landing pad, and they would only pop out when they needed to. The shots ricocheting off the BMP could be heard all the way over at the air field. Cav was having a lot of fun even though she wasn't up close and personal as she normally preferred, but this was just as good. She was still having issues with some of the weapons system as some of the words on the buttons were in Russian, others were in Spanish. She could make out some of the Spanish words but it was still an issue. So she kind of mashed the buttons to see what worked and what didn't. She pressed one button that had its function written in Cyrillic "дым" (Smoke in Russian). A barrage of smoke canisters were fired creating a smoke screen.

"What the hell is that?" Fletcher called back

"I don't know, it looks like smoke" Cav responded

"Switching to IR" (Infrared)

Fletcher flipped a switch and all of the screens turned a soft grey and anything that was warm was a bright white. The system was unaffected by the fact it was daytime.

"Damn this thing is cool" Fletcher spoke with an almost giddy tone

" _This thing is unbelievably strong" Cav mentally noted_

Nomad and the others were picking off the stragglers which there weren't a lot. Cadmen sent out a pulse ISAC identified the targets on his contacts. There was a faint and familiar signature off in the distance he quickly disregarded it. ISAC pointed out all of the armaments in one of the nearby warehouses.

"Fuck, they are making a run for the armory." Cadmen called out

"You go me and Twitch have this" Nomad responded

Cadmen nodded as he quickly sprinted to the secondary garage where most of the armaments were stored. The back door was locked he took a quick breath and prepped a shock 'nade. With one swift and hard kick the door fell down. He tossed his grenade into the room. It detonated a few seconds later he caught three of the unidad soldiers in the blast radius. He darted in with his LVOA-C he chalked them all up before rolling behind a pillar in the building. He could see the RPGs in wooden boxes that had straw in the bottom. The other soldiers in the room started firing at the pillar where Cadmen was. He chucked a frag into the box that held the weapons. There was a conveniently placed container full of the missiles right next to the weapon it's self.

"ISAC, Trigger protocol three" Cadmen spoke to his AI companion. A chunk of concrete blew off the pillar right next to his face. He flinched as there were fragments of concrete flying off the pillar. He squinted his eyes so the concrete fragments wouldn't get in his eyes.

"Survivor link activating in three…two…one…Survivor link active" ISAC chimed

A surge passed through Cadmen, he could feel the adrenaline from the link flow through his blood. His bones and armor harden, his heart raced. His brown eyes dilated into black pits. He was like a bullet from a gun and he darted out the door as fast as humanly possible. He continued to sprint as his frag grenade went off the missiles detonated and the building became engulfed in flames and all of the ammunition in the building started to pop and crackle as it was set off. The Unidad soldiers didn't make it out in time. Cadmen stopped running after he made it to a garage bay. The effects of the link wore off quickly. He hunched over with his hands on his knees and threw up.

"I'll never get used to that" He coughed

The unidad forces were weakening. There was a group held up in the garage bay. Fletcher drove the BMP to the garage and stopped right in front of the bay.

"Hit 'em with the main gun" Fletcher called back to Cav

"Got it" she responded

She fired an AT-10 stabber right into the heart of the bay. The BMP rocked slightly because of the recoil from the cannon. There wasn't anything left but dust and blood and scorch marks of where humans were. Nomad and Twitch regrouped with Cadmen who was still recovering from the link he popped. One of the Unidad soldiers got their hands on an M79 grenade launcher and fired it at the tracks of the BMP. The trophy system didn't catch the grenade. The grenade exploded knocking the tracks off the cogs.

"FUCK" Fletcher yelled

He got out of the driver's seat and loaded another AT-10 stabber. He got on the guns. Cav backed off as she knew he had a better idea of what he was doing. He turned the turret and fired the load to the air control tower killing the last few unidad soldiers and knocking down the tower. The area fell silent. Fletcher and Cav jumped out of the BMP. Fletcher threw two frags on the inside to destroy the internal systems of the BMP. They walked over to the other three. Cadmen was sitting on a box recuperating from the survivor link Nomad and Twitch were on Cadmen's flanks. As Cav and Fletcher smiled at each other and gave a nod of approval. They arrived with smiles on their faces. Cav couldn't have hid her smile even if she tried. Fletcher's grin was hidden by his balaclava.

"Did you destroy the BMP?" Nomad asked

"I tossed a couple of frags inside so I would like to think I destroyed it" Fletcher responded

Nomad nodded "Do you think you could find a vehicle that would suit as a ground transport and an assault vehicle."

"Yeah, I think I saw a couple of Jeeps that could work you think we have time for me to load up a few parts and tools?" Fletcher asked

"Yeah we should be ok for a little bit but not too long. Unidad will be back unless the rebels get here first. I'll give you about thirty minutes" Nomad nodded

On a distant vantage point Anubis was watching the team with a person he didn't know but he was told that he could trust him. His boss always pulled fast shit on Anubis and the others, this was insanely weird as not only the leader of the masks approved him but the cartel did as well most of these LMB guys didn't seem to recognize him but then again this mystery man hadn't been there very long. Although a few had their suspicions on who he was.

"How 'bout our friends?" the man had a deep voice that resonated. He leaned on a tree with his leg bent at the knee and his foot on the tree giving him support. His head was turned to the base his face was covered by a mask that went to his nose. He had a pair of blacked out goggles on and the hood on his hoodie was up.

"They are talking. About finding a vehicle for something. There is a guy with an orange watch it looks similar to yours." Anubis peeked back at the man before looking back down his scope

"hmmm" was all the agent responded with as he looked to his watch before looking back at the base

" _It has to be Cadmen he is the only one who hates the Cartel. I better stay under the radar because if he is down here then the second wave is probably prancing around looking for me, god they are so ignorant thinking they are going to catch me" the agent shook his head as he looked to the base._

"You know him don't you" Anubis continued

"You are very perceptive" The agent responded

Anubis let out a very soft huff of amusement. He looked at Fletcher naturally he could only see his eyes because of his balaclava. But that was more than enough to open the flood gates. Memories came flooding back of all the raids and hits they did together. Then he remembered the down time between ops.

 _Flashback begins…_

 **March 2009**

 **Fort Bragg, North Carolina**

John, Keegan, Donny, Mitchell, and Harding were all in their specified living quarters. John was sitting on the couch, reading a field manual for entertainment. Donny was also on the couch, watching ESPN as they were talking about the Packers. Mitchell was lying on his bed writing home to his girlfriend of the time. Keegan and Fletcher were sitting across from each other at the table in the room, cleaning their weapons. Fletcher was playing honkytonk U by Toby Keith for better background noise then Donny's 'football bullshit' as he used to call it.

"Harding shut that shit off" Donny called back

"No, I when I hear those broadcasters of yours talk I can feel my intelligence drop by nine points" Harding responded

"It's not like your hillbilly ass had much intelligence to begin with" Donny retorted with a smile

John and Keegan were trying their hardest to not to laugh. Mitchell had a smirk on his face as he wrote. Harding chuckled.

"So says the dumbass who gets knee deep in a whore house and gets drunk with black market arms dealers and gets taken hostage" Fletcher retorted

"That business in Croatia doesn't count" Donny pointed his finger back at Fletcher without looking away from the TV

"Oh bullshit it does, remember who had light up the place to bail you out? Cause I do" Fletcher continued as he cleaned the barrel of his MTAR

Keegan chuckled "I'm with the Cowboy on this one, because that was bad"

"Oh, great now you got Blondie involved" Donny had a huge grin on his face

John started to laugh as did Mitchell. Keegan just smiled.

"You're just jealous because I can grow flowing and luscious hair" Keegan replied

Shots continued to fly through the group all day. That was probably the most fun they had on base as they just took shots at each other.

 _Flashbacks end…_

Keegan frowned as he missed those days. He cherished those memories as things were simple back then just go where they told you and do what they said and come home. He wished things were that simple again. He was stuck in a trance he lost his awareness of how much time went by. The agent that was with him softly kicked his legs to get his attention. Anubis snapped out of his trance.

"What is it?"

"I asked if you could call in the masks" The agent continued

"Yeah" Anubis replied quietly "Stinger 6-4 engage targets at these coordinates" he sent the coordinates through their specific code.

"We will be there in five mikes" the mask replied

Anubis looked back to the agent "we need to bug out before we are discovered"

Though Anubis couldn't see it the agent looked at him in doubt. The agent knew that something was bothering him.

" _He is or was close to someone down there. It's good to know that I have leverage over him at least. At least I have something over this guy maybe it will work on the rest of the ones in their little group." The agent commented in his head._

Fletcher wandered around he found a Jeep that had an open cockpit as he called it he opened the hood to see a promising V8 lurking beneath the hood. It needed work to meet the speed requirements however it would do for now. It had the standard hammered metal look as the other Unidad vehicles there were few parts that Fletcher could use that would increase the performance there was a spot for a mounted gun on the top of the frame. He opened the drivers door and lifted up the floor mat and put the keys in the ignition. He didn't start the vehicle he had that funny feeling again. He turned around and pulled out his Ballista and put it all together and loaded a fresh mag. He didn't bring Bino's so his rifle scope was the only thing he had that had magnification. He scanned the hill tops he finally got to his 10 o'clock and he noticed two figures getting ready to descend down the back side of the hill. He fired one shot the round struck the tree next to the two. He could see the figures drop down just behind the ridge.

"Shit that was close" The agent was cool as ever

"No, shit we need to leave the masks can handle them" Anubis replied

"Fuck that, no one shoots at me and lives to tell the tale" the agent quickly assembled an M700 carbon with a 12x scope.

The agent slowly crawled back up the hillside just enough so he could get his rifle over the ridge. Fletcher saw the movement in the brush and he put round on the ridge the round went right over the agent's head. ISAC highlighted the vapor trail of the round the agent lined the shot up with the trail and sent a round down range. Fletcher already had moved and the round struck the concrete. Fletcher started counting

"One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, four one thousand, five one thousand" the report of the rifle finally washed over the base

Fletcher adjusted his scope for 500 yards he peeked back out and sent another round down range. The round was much closer to its intended target. The round struck the dirt right in front of the agent. Nomad, Cav, Twitch, and Cadmen all came running to the garage where Fletcher was at.

"What the hell is going on?!" Nomad shouted standing in the open

"Sniper, get down!" Fletcher yelled back

A round struck right at Nomad's feet making him jump "JESUS"

Everyone dove for cover Cadmen pulled out his own M700 carbon he was awfully pale from the survivor link still and he still wasn't feeling 100%.

"Ghost what is the range?!" Cadmen shouted

A round struck the car that Cadmen was hiding behind he flinched down behind the quarter panel on the drivers side.

"Range estimated 500 yards, wind between 3-5 knots coming out of the east they are on the hill side my ten o'clock." Fletcher shouted back

Cadmen nodded as he adjusted his rifle. He fired one round it landed to the right of the agent. A huge dirt cloud flew into the air. ISAC recognized the signal coming from the hillside.

"Rouge Jammer detected, Neutralize target on site" ISAC spoke loudly so everyone heard what he said.

Fletcher lost focus when ISAC began to speak. The opposing agent fired another round the round struck Fletcher's chest rig. There was a loud Twang sound made off of his plate. Fletcher laid on the concrete motionless for a few minutes. Cadmen mentally cursed to himself.

"MAN DOWN, MAN DOWN!" Twitch yelled

She put a fresh mag into her 417 and started dumping rounds down range to keep the target suppressed. She was able to reload really quickly. Cav was powerless in the distance fight she stayed in the shadows nearby. Nomad darted across the driveway and grabbed Fletcher by his chest rig and he dragged him behind a garage.

"Don't die on me after all of these years" Nomad smacked Fletcher's face

Fletcher gasped for air with wide eyes "I'M PISSED NOW MAN, I'M GOING TO KILL THAT FUCKHEAD!" he clutched his ribs and loaded a new mag into his MTAR his breathing was heavy his eyes filled with anger

"Good to see that you're ready to fight" Nomad smirked

The agent continued to keep up the fire on the ops keeping them pinned. After five minutes there was the sound of armored trucks rolling up on to the main gate. The White Masks had arrived.

"Fan out, find them" The mask leader shouted to his men

Twitch looked to Cav after hearing them unload from the vehicles, she gave a nod. Cav smirked as she went out the back exit

"Masks are at the main gate searching for us" Cav whispered quietly before lurking in-between buildings saying out of sight.

Twitch reloaded and she waited patiently in the garage for the masks to get closer to their position. Cadmen stopped firing as there were no rounds coming back at them. Fletcher got up off the floor slowly there was bruising on his ribs from where the round was caught by his vest.

"All callsigns wait for the masks to get closer let them get bottle necked in the driveway then open up, neutralize all target with extreme prejudice." Fletcher called into the comms

"10-4 on your last Ghost" Twitch called in and readied her 417

Nomad nodded and gave thumb up before putting a new mag into his R5. Cav had already shut off her radio as she was prowling like a lion before it takes out a gazelle.

"Cav call in" Fletcher called out he waited a little bit "Cav are you receiving me?"

"She cut off her comms" Twitch responded

Fletcher cursed under his breath. Cadmen readied his LVOA and he attached his muzzle brake. Twitch was laying prone and holding a deep and skinny angle on the driveway. Cav skulked around and she was behind one of the masks he was a loner and evil smile crawled on her face. She snuck up behind him, she grabbed his L85 and brought it back up into his throat and with a swift twist to the right she broke his neck. She continued her prowl looking for her next target. She found a team of two heading towards the driveway that the rest of the team was down. She sprinted and took one to the ground and put her knee on his throat to keep him on the floor and she shot the other one twice with her Luison. She looked to the mask she was choking he was trying hard to get free and she just smiled at him as he struggled. It was only a minute or two before he drew his last breath. She got off the floor and she scurried over to another building this time there was a team of five. They were all heading the same way towards the rest of the team she decided to wait. Cadmen was looking down that way he tapped Twitch's boot to get her attention. She turned and saw them she nodded before getting ready. The masks were in the middle of the driveway.

"on my shot" Fletcher said into the radio before getting up with a soft grunt.

Nomad was behind him and he stayed out of sight by hiding behind the armored truck in the garage that he and Fletcher was in. Fletcher leaned to his left and opened up he bagged the point man. Nomad hit the one to the left of the point man. Twitch took the right Cadmen took the one in the rear and Cav kindly took out the last one. They regrouped on Nomad and Fletcher. Fletcher was already putting a tally mark on his rifle with his knife.

"I thought the rebels were supposed to show up" Cadmen spoke as he disassembled his M700 and put it in his bag

"They are and they will give them a few minutes" Nomad replied

Sure enough it wasn't more than two minutes later the rebels had shown up and claimed the base as their own.

"Told you" Nomad continued

Cadmen nodded, ISAC had just finished his ballistics analysis and displayed it to Cadmen. He started to read it. ISAC mentioned that there was a Rouge jammer being used. Cadmen's heart raced as he knew exactly who it was.

"We need to get out of here now" Cadmen spoke in a rushed tone

"Why?" Nomad asked

"Just trust me if my A.I is right then we are in some deep shit" Cadmen immediately took off to the chopper.

They all looked at him as if he was crazy "Let's move if he is spooked then we probably should be as well" Nomad started to head to the chopper "Fletcher and Cav take that jeep back to the safe house"

The team packed up their gear and they quickly moved out of the area. They were all curious as to why Cadmen is all worked up. Fletcher grabbed some parts and tools to make the Jeep better for their situation Cav got in the passenger seat as they tore off and left for the safe house. The Jeep was an open top and there were no doors on it. Fletcher shut off his body cam and his mic he kept his eyes on the road. He was driving with one hand on the wheel his other hand was on his chest under his rig trying to ease the pain of where the bullet landed.

"What happened to your brother while he was down here?" Fletcher asked he wasn't shouting but he spoke loud enough for Taina to hear

"I'd rather not talk about it" She tried to shut down the conversation

"You can tell me I have went off the reservation myself a few times. Believe me when I say what I did was much worse than what you did" he continued on down the blacktop

She looked at him and her brow furrowed and she lightly squinted her eyes as she contemplated telling him what all happened. She let out an inaudible sigh.

"My brother was investigating the cartel and he was captured and tortured by the cartel. I didn't find out until a few days later when a Federal agent told BOPE that he was missing. Naturally they told Vincente and he told me and I left and came down here and started to cause damage to the cartel. It was only a matter of time before they found me. Meghan and Emma contacted the ghosts and they sniffed me out. We found my brother and we got out before anything worse could happen." Taina watched the scenery as the moved along the road.

Fletcher nodded "So what happened between you and Bowman?"

She let out another sigh as that was she was trying to avoid. She had already told him most of the story and gave a mental fuck it and shrug. "She wanted the information that my brother had and he couldn't give it up and it pissed her off and she said she was going to throw my brother in some hole and cover it up. I threatened her but Meghan and Emma stopped me and we left Bolivia I was hoping that I wouldn't have to come back to this shit hole."

"Well it's good to see someone else who shares my morals I would have done the same thing if I was in your position." He smiled

She looked at him quizzically, he was one of the few who actually agreed with her actions. Dominic and Sebastian were the only other ones who supported her decision. She thought Fletcher had a higher code of honor but she also wasn't entirely surprised. She had a small smirk on her face "I guess that's why Mike doesn't trust you"

"Funny, Mike will never trust me no matter what I do" he smiled at his own sarcasm

They shared the silence for the rest of the car ride. They got back to safe house after Nomad and the rest of the team obviously. They walked in and Cadmen had himself in one of the back he was on the horn talking to Faye. The rest of the team was in the main living area mainly restocking mags and other equipment. Fletcher and Taina started to do the same.

"Alpha Alpha Romeo Oscar November Kilo Echo Echo November Echo Romeo India November Bravo Oscar Lima India Victor India Alpha" Cadmen spoke into his phone He would've used the standard division comms but he would be tagged as rouge if he did so he had to use his phone and speak in a code that was somewhat easily breakable.

Faye knew what he was doing so she wrote down his words and she picked out the first letter in every word it spelled: Aaron Keener in Bolivia. "Shit, you're kidding right?" she asked

"I wish, do you want to send in the second runners?" Cadmen asked

"I'll get back with you on that after I figure things out. Just make sure he doesn't sell the product to any faction there." Faye responded

"Got it, I need to know if I can brief the team on who he is" Cadmen continued

Faye took a large breath and exhaled "Yes but only the bare minimum we don't need them or whatever families they may have at an additional risk."

"Got it" Cadmen replied

Cadmen walked back into the main area. Fletcher had his chest rig off and he had Wrench sitting up the bruising on his face was still pretty bad. He was having some trouble breathing he breathing could be heard throughout the safe house. Twitch was chugging a water, Cav started to clean off her knife, Nomad was throwing together a new loadout.

"Where is the rest of the team?" Cadmen asked

"They are taking out a convoy in Caimanes they should be back in a few hours." Bowman replied as she was digging through a huge stack of physical files.

 **1200 hours Caimanes province**

The other part of the team was flying over a main road there was a large convoy moving down the road. The team was high enough that no one notice they were watching the convoy. Meghan was closely examining the convoy. There were four escort vehicles, three big rigs, and two choppers on over watch. Aria was looking over Meghan's shoulder as was Mitchell.

"The hostages should be in the second rig in the center of the convoy" Aria pointed to the rig

"What makes you think that" Meghan asked

"That's how the convoy's used to run in Italy. So this way it stops missile strikes." Aria nodded

"This convoy is bigger than normal generally they are three vehicles long with a chopper. Not seven trucks with two choppers." Midas spoke looking through the glass that was on the floor of the cockpit

"I thinks its best we wait until the choppers break off to refuel then we strike." Holt threw his opinion out

Meghan was thinking on how to take down the convoy she looked to Weaver "how good of a shot are you?" she asked

"Good" Weaver replied

"Do you think you could take out the engine block and the lead vehicles?" Meghan asked

"Yeah I should be able to" Weaver nodded

"Ok, this is the game plan. After the choppers break off, Weaver decommissions the lead escorts getting the convoy to stop or at least slow down. Holt and Midas I want you guys to take out the drivers of the rigs so they can't get away. Neutralize all hostiles and tag the convoy for the rebels to pick up. We photograph everything, got it?"

"Sounds good" Midas replied

The rest of the team nodded in agreement. They maintained an observation position for about an hour. The choppers finally broke off and left the convoy.

"Execute, Extecute, Execute" Meghan spoke

Midas brought the chopper down to run parallel with the convoy, they were still out of sight. Weaver lined up his shot, these shots were always a bitch to make from a chopper. He slowed his breathing and with a light squeeze on the trigger the round left the chamber and hit its mark. He quickly repeated the shot with the second vehicle. The convoy came to stop after rolling a few hundred feet. The sicario's knew there was a chopper nearby but they assumed it was an Unidad chopper as they never stop patrolling so they set up a ground perimeter. Midas set the chopper down a few hundred meters away. The team came to a hedge row that ran parallel to the convoy, they prepped their weapons. Midas and Holt quickly dispatched the drivers of the rigs. All of the sicario's were out of their vehicles now. The only ones that weren't were the ones on the guns of the escort vehicles. They were confused as all hell normally the rebels would do a full out assault but this was more similar to the Ghost tactics but they were nowhere near. They cowered behind their trucks to avoid being picked off.

"Weaver take out the gunners, Alibi see if you can sneak behind and fuck 'em up, Holt I want you to do the same. Midas, Weaver, Inferno stay here with me" Valkyrie commanded in a hushed tone

She prepped a camera and she gave it a hard toss and it landed on the other side of the convoy she counted up the hostiles.

"Six hostiles on the other side of the convoy" Valk continued

Weaver shot the gunners on the hummers through the hedge row that the team was hiding behind. Alibi and Holt started their assault, they flanked out and around making a pincer move. The sicario's were looking all over for their attackers but they were confused as ever. The captain who was in charge of the convoy called for reinforcements. Sure enough the choppers that were on overwatch status were back this time they were ready for a fight. They were moving hard and fast. Holt and Alibi opened fire at the same time killing most of the sicario's. The ones they missed scrambled to the tree line and started to return fire. The shots ricocheted off of the trees and the metal of the trucks. Holt and Alibi retreated to opposite side of the convoy and they returned fire. The wing beat of the choppers was getting louder by the second. Meghan looked back over her shoulder and saw the choppers her eyes widened.

"Inferno, Midas take care of those choppers."

Mitchell and Midas smiled and nodded at each other as they ran back into the field.

"Weaver, you and I are going to push up and help Alibi and Holt" She grabbed her MPX and sprinted up to one of the Humvees the cartel had. Weaver was right behind her.

Mitchell loaded an incendiary as they ran into the open field the chopper pilots rotated their helo's so the gunners could fire on the approaching soldiers. Mitchell took advantage of the opportunity and fired grenade. It smashed into the tail of the helicopter the grenade spewed it's mixture and exploded cutting the chopper in half.

"SLPASH ONE CHOPPER" Mitchell shouted

Midas opened fire on the other chopper. The gunners started to return fire on Midas. He started to run in zig zags to avoid the incoming fire. Mitchell loaded his other incendiary and fired it into the chopper. The chopper broke in half just like the one before it.

"SECOND CHOPPER DOWN" Mitchell shouted "COMING BACK TO ASSIST"

"GOT IT" Valkyrie replied

Alibi threw down a prisma diverting the Sicario's attention. They shot at the prisma thinking it was Alibi, she managed to get into the sicario's backline. She smiled and she pulled out her Keratos and she picked off the sicario's as they moved into the open. The sicario's were now sandwiched between both forces. Valkyrie was able to pick off a few from her position. Mitchell came up to her side. He pulled a frag off his rig.

"FRAG OUT" Mitchell tossed the frag into the tree line

Alibi took cover behind her tree so she wouldn't get hit with any of the frag. The frag exploded taking out five sicario's. The remaining two sicario's threw down their guns and put their hands in the air. Alibi was going to let them surrender, she hated the idea of letting human traffickers live. So before anyone saw them she killed the both of them. The area started to die down, Aria walked out of the tree line and regrouped with the team. She went to open one of the trailers to be stopped by Mitchell.

"Let me check to make sure it isn't rigged to explode" Mitchell slowly pulled her back from the doors of the trailer.

"It's not rigged *She smacks his hand off her shoulder* Don't touch me either" She looked at him with anger her voice had hate in it

"You don't know if it's rigged now calm down it will only take me a few seconds" Mitchell didn't strike a tone with her however his patience was going to quickly wear thin.

"Why would they rig a container full of people and product to explode?" her anger started to climb higher.

"For insurance that no one can take it without dying or maybe they want to kill their buyer for some reason" Mitchell was trying to keep his cool

She scoffed and turned around dropping the subject all together. The rest of the team looked at the two with confused looks on their faces. They hadn't seen Aria act out against someone. They all got the feeling there was some bad blood between the two. Mitchell started his examination of the doors. It only took him two or three minutes to make sure they weren't rigged and they weren't.

"Clear, you can open them now" Mitchell shouted from the rig furthest away

Aria opened one and there were women and children tied and gagged in the trailer. They all had scared looks on their faces as they looked to the Italian. She pulled down the bandanna that covered her face and she laid her Mx4 on the floor of the trailer and she put her hands up to show she wasn't a threat. Midas took a picture of the trailer since Aria's back was to Midas they didn't have to worry about blocking her face out. She kneeled down in front of a woman that had a child clinging to her. She took the gag out of the woman's mouth she started to speak Spanish at a rapid pace.

"Midas give me a hand here" Aria called out of the trailer

Midas hopped in the trailer and started free the hostages. Meghan opened up a trailer that loaded to the brim in coke. She photographed it and let out a chuckle as it was the most coke she had ever seen in her life. Mitchell opened the last trailer to see several feet of armor plating, two massive diesel V-12 engines, and what looked like two 125mm smoothbore barrels with the firing mechanisms. He photographed all of it. _"What are they doing with all of this?" Mitchell asked himself_ he even saw a few shells to boot. Holt looked into the trailer.

"Shiiit that's a lot of ordinance." Holt spoke from outside of the trailer

Mitchell was at a loss for words he couldn't believe what he was looking at. Holt looked around the door frame and he found a shipping manifest. He photographed it and he read some of it. It was written in a code the only ledge able thing on the manifest was _"Clean House equipment"_. Midas called the rebels to come pick up the hostages luckily they were nearby and they took the hostages back to where they came from. Meghan came back to semi that Mitchell and Holt were at she looked in and was just as confused as they were.

"What the hell is a cartel doing with all of this ordnance and equipment." She asked looking the trailer top and down.

"That's good question." Mitchell spoke while he set up charges on the missiles and throughout the trailer. "We should discuss this when we aren't in enemy territory."

Meghan nodded "get your charges set I don't want anything to be left behind from this convoy"

"Yes ma'am" Mitchell spoke out of reflex to thinking that a CO was talking to him. They looked at each other awkwardly "I don't know what came over me"

"Just rig everything to blow and get out of here" Meghan just turned as they both wanted out of the awkward situation. She went back to the chopper

Mitchell had set up all of the charges and was ready to make it snow coke. He was the last one on the chopper. Midas flew the chopper to an observation status they were all looking down at the remnants of the convoy.

"Blowing charges" Mitchell spoke

With the squeeze of a button the cocaine and the ordnance exploded into a fire ball there was a cloud of dust left from the Coke. Meghan leaned into the cockpit and told Midas to take them back to the safe house.

 **1500 Hours Itacua Echo**

The team that was back first was well rested and restocked. The rest of the team walked in the door looking tired. Fletcher was reading some files on the SBC (Santa Blanca Cartel) and Unidad. Nomad was eating an MRE. Twitch was fiddling with her drone. Cadmen was very nervous and pacing back and forth in the back room. Cav was just watching the lieutenants they captured earlier. Mitchell walked up to Fletcher with the pictures from the trailer. Fletcher was immediately intrigued with the images. He set down the files and examined the pictures.

"Those are parts for a T-72 Russian tank" he whispered to Mitchell

Mitchell gave a shocked expression that only Fletcher saw. Meghan and the rest of the ghosts were giving Bowman the pictures. Aria went and grabbed an MRE. Wrench was just trying not to move to avoid any pain. Cadmen had heard the team come back and he came out to the main room. Everyone looked at him wondering what he was doing.

"We have a serious situation here. I mean very serious worse than the Masks, Cartel, LMB, and Unidad working together. This is information is highly classified not a lick of this information leaves this safe house." Cadmen spoke with a serious tone.

Everyone just looked at him waiting for him to continue. The room was in silence mainly from bordem or exhaustion.

"How many of you had heard of someone by the name of Aaron Keener?" Cadmen asked

Fletcher and Mitchell looked at each other in confusion of how this agent knew who Aaron Keener. Bowman knew where this was going and she hung her head. The ghosts, Meghan, Taina, Emma, and Aria looked him in confusion.

"Who is that?" Nomad asked

"He is the most wanted man in the world right next to the leader of the white masks only this guy is much more dangerous. He is a rouge Division agen-" Cadmen was cut off

"Fucking spooks, they never told us that" Mitchell spoke with anger

"What?" Cadmen asked

"The agency never said anything about him being a covert agent" Mitchell continued

"What do you know about Keener?" Cadmen asked

"Everything there is to know I could tell you the size of his boots" Fletcher added

"How do you know so much most of SHD files are totally blacked out." Cadmen retorted

Fletcher and Mitchell let out sighs simultaneously. Fletcher continued "It was a few years ago me and Mitchell were operating in a country that should never had US operators in it. Me and Mitchell were tasked with taking out operators that went rouge and that held vital information to the US and his name was the last name that came across our frag list and well we went hunting for him thinking he was no different than the others. We were being very careful and well everything went normally. Until It came down to kill time and well he must have knew about us or something because he was ready for us and then he dropped a building on us."

"Which country?" Cadmen asked

The rest of the team was quietly listening to what they had to say. They were all very interested in what was being said. Even Cav was close by listening. Wrench didn't have a choice in the matter as he couldn't really move. Didn't really want to as he loved getting his hands on classified information when he could.

"Well I'm *Mitchell taps his shoulder* We are not at liberty to tell you not even president knows that was a DHS, CIA, JSOC joint operation." Fletcher continued

"Keener didn't have any of the equipment like you have or at least didn't use it." Mitchell added

Cadmen nodded taking in everything said he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Nomad's interest had peaked.

"What is the Division?" Nomad asked

"The Division is a highly top secret division of sleeper agents that are embedded across the US. When presidential directive 51 is signed we are activated. We are the last option of defense and order. We were in New York during the quarantine. Anyway Aaron Keener was a part of the first wave like I was. He was one hell of leader, cocky but good. We were sent to hold the center of the city and the brass told us to pull out after they thought we couldn't hold it and well we lost a good friends trying to hold it. After that fiasco he went rouge and started killing agents and recruiting them he built an army of first wave agents. Those who rejected his ideals were killed. He scoured the city and he found A genetic mapping tools on a laptop and a 3d printer."

"What makes him so special other than he has similar tech to you?" Aria asked

"He has the genome for Green Poison virus" Cadmen spoke

The room fell back in awe "Wait, Your telling me this asshole can release the deadliest virus known to man anywhere in the world and at anytime. He also has control over the vaccines for this virus." Fletcher spoke with some anger.

"Yeah that's why we haven't made him know public so we don't have people hunting him and possibly cause him to release the virus somewhere else in the world." Cadmen responded

"You should have told us as soon as you knew" Mitchell continued

"I didn't know he was down here until a few hours ago" Cadmen replied calmly

The room was getting tense everyone could feel it. Mitchell let out a sigh and looked at Cadmen and shook his head. Nomad stood up from his seat.

"How do we stop him?" he asked breaking the tension in the room

"I don't know if we can stop him, however we can slow him and stop him from producing the genome for the virus. The only way we can do that is by destroying all copies of that genome that should slow him down quite a bit. However the issue is that we don't know how many copies he made or where he is storing them. I'd imagine that he keeps some of them on the laptop. The next issue is getting close enough to wipe the drive and clean out his A.I I don't know how it works exactly seeing as I never had contact with a rouge other than killing them." Cadmen responded

"How in the hell are we supposed to get close to someone who is most likely going to know every move we make before we even know what that move is" Fletcher continued

"I don't know he is a smart bastard" Cadmen responded

"I..I can help" a quiet and weak voice covered the room

"How can you help?" Bowman scoffed

"I'm a part of dedsec..the hacker group" Wrench continued

"You think you could wipe the drive without us touching the laptop or the drives?" Fletcher quickly asked

"I don't know for sure but I can definitely try and maybe tag the laptop" Wrench responded

"Wait you're just going to trust a criminal in covert operation." Bowman asked giving an agitated look

"Desperate times call for desperate measures and it's no different than me trusting you, spook" Fletcher fired back

Bowman bit her tongue not really wanting the argument to go any further. "Alright we will trust him *looks to Wrench* if you fuck us or fuck up you will you be extradited to a black site where you will not be found and you will never see the light of day again." Her tone was fierce

Wrench meekly nodded as he knew Bowman was powerful woman just based on how she talked. "I'll need a laptop my phone and some time I will have to track down the device and do a system wipe."

Bowman handed him both items he asked for and somewhat roughly "Get started then"

Wrench wasted no time and got right to work. Bowman looked to the rest of the team. "In the mean time we need start on picking apart this alliance that is making the rest of the world nervous." Bowman spoke

"This time we are going on full out kill missions there is no sending to prison. This will go down hard and fast we will bring them all to their knees." Nomad spoke up

"I suggest we break up into smaller teams to take out the buchones. Two man wrecking crews" Cadmen added

"That's insanely dangerous what happens if we get pinned down or cut off?" Meghan cast her opinion

"We will have a team on standby for reinforcements here as Karen here might need help with security. I personally say that we have a rotation so this way we all get rest while getting work done." Cadmen continued

"That sounds good but who is taking care of what?" Emma asked

"Well, Ghost and Caveria you guys are the better two at infiltration so you should take care of the security branch." Bowman spoke it nearly killed her to admit that but she was right.

Fletcher and Cav nodded "Where do we start?" Cav asked

"Montoyoc" Bowman threw a file to Fletcher who caught it

"Valkyrie and Alibi you two will be taking care of Caimanes. Cadmen and Inferno you two are taking care of San Mateo. Twitch and Holt you will be taking care of Pucara. Nomad and Midas you will be dealing with Libertad. Weaver you will go where ever you are needed but in the mean time you will be here. There are safe houses in all of the provinces that you can use however don't trash the place." Bowman finished and distributed the keys to the safe houses "Get to work people we don't have much time"

With that the teams left to their respective provinces. It was going to be a long couple of weeks. Just knowing that Keener was in Bolivia made Cadmen very uneasy he was going to be on his toes for the full duration of his trip.

 **A/N: I will have Fletcher and Mitchell talk about their interaction with Keener at a later date. Just and FYI, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.**


	21. Chapter 21: DBNO

**A/N: Hello everyone! I know it has been a while since I last uploaded a chapter, it took so long because i lost a motivation to write and also this is a longer chapter. I have rekindled my motivation to write and I already have Chapter 22 in the works i have no ETA on when it will be done, but i really hope it won't take as long as this one or the past one did. I also need to give a shout out to GrimGravy for beta reading this chapter, his advice was extremely helpful and I thank him for it. I also want to thank all of you for reading this story during the lulls of content. I'm really grateful for all of the support. We are getting closer to the end of the Bolivia chapters, which will be a good thing because i keep thinking of the first day back from Bolivia where Maverick and Clash will be making their apperence in the story. I don't know about the rest of you but Burt Horizon look phenomenal. Enough of my rambling, please if you have any questions, criticism, or an error I might have missed please leave a review or PM me. Enjoy!**

 _ **Chapter 21: DBNO**_ _(DOWN BUT NOT OUT)_

 **July 18, 2018**

It was a long week for the team in Bolivia as the constant rotation from the provinces and safehouses was exhausting. The team managed to neutralize most of the Buchones. The hard work was mostly done. Sueño was starting to sweat metaphorically speaking. He had only been out of prison for three weeks and his empire was already being destroyed again. The LMB was fed up with the incompetence of the cartel and white masks. Their leaders were debating whether or not they should pull out of the deal or just absorb all of the assets of the cartel and then go home. They still had no idea Aaron Keener was working alongside them. The Masks really didn't give a damn about the cartel as they were really embezzling money from them and using their employee's as a labor force. Sueño was a smart man but the Masks were exceptionally good espionage and scheming, so Sueño had no idea that the Masks were stealing money or playing him like a fiddle. Keegan, Donny, and John were doing their best to train the cartel members but it wasn't going well. Keegan was doing his best to keep an eye on Rainbow and the Ghosts to ensure that they weren't the next ones on the kill list for the team. Keener had been talking to the White Mask leader about selling him a little bit of Green Poison and a vaccine for it. Bolivia had started to stabilize again Unidad was starting to become less corrupt and was actually enforcing the law and fighting the cartel. However there was still quite a few Unidad soldiers who were staying with the Cartel.

 **0700 hours Itacua Echo**

Fletcher and Taina had gotten close or as close as Taina would let him get. The team as a whole got closer to each other as they were constantly changing who they were working with so everyone had experience in every province. Since they were constantly out on a mission or going somewhere they didn't have much time to groom themselves. Fletcher's stubble had turned into more of a beard it wasn't as magnificent as Craig's but still it wasn't bad. His hair had only gotten longer and it was almost down to his shoulders. Mitchell didn't really have an undercut anymore however the hair on the top of his head was quite long and disproportionate to the rest of his hair. He had stubble growing on his face and he hated it, he forgot to bring his shaving kit so he was stuck with it for the time being. Taina's hair was literally stuck in her braid she would try pulling it apart but it would hurt like hell so she just let it go until she could get it wet. Meghan had to quit wearing her hair down as she didn't have the time to wash it so it was mostly in a bun or a pony tail. She felt nasty because she hadn't showered in a few days but no one was able to bathe properly since they got there. Emma was deadbeat tired, she mainly chose for the night ops for whatever reason and she to make sure the tech the team was using was still working efficiently she had little time for rest. Aria was relatively fine as it was no different than she was undercover. Cadmen had slipped into his old routine from when he was in New York. It was rare that he actually got sleep he might have gotten an hour or two before he was sent out on a mission. The Ghosts were perfectly fine not even a sign of fatigue. Wrench was working insanely hard on finding the genome for green poison. It was a difficult task as he had to hack into SHD and find Keeners tech and wipe the genome off of it. However the firewall in SHD proved to be powerful. The bruising on his face had gone down considerably and he was able to speak at a normal level without straining his voice. Bowman had started to be less of a bitch to Mitchell and Fletcher. She would still argue with them but it was more civilized than before. She was still holding a grudge against Taina but it she was able to keep from fighting with her. The team was becoming more efficient every day.

The team had just got up for the day. Wrench had been up all night trying to find the laptop. Everyone was checking their gear making sure it was ready for a fight. The Rainbow operators were tired and it was quite visible. Meghan was examining her cameras on the couch she let out a yawn.

"Damn it I have never wanted to be back at Hereford so bad" She said quietly

"I couldn't agree more" Emma responded looking at Meghan with tired eyes.

Meghan chuckled "you look like shit"

"I feel like it too, but you like shit yourself" Emma gave a small chuckle as she leaned back into the couch

"I really need a shower that's for sure, I feel disgusting" Meghan replied

"Ditto" Emma retorted

Wrench continued to tap away until he noticed a signal coming out of Media Luna. He tapped Bowman's shoulder and got her to look at it. The signal was weak but strong enough for them to see.

"I don't know what that is it's too weak to be a laptop but it could be a phone it's a singular ping as well no other signal for miles." Wrench pointed to the ping

"Ghost, Inferno go check this out" Bowman turned the computer around

"What is it?" Mitchell asked as he wasn't paying much attention to the conversation.

"A phone in Media Luna, see what it is and extract any info you can" Bowman replied

Mitchell sighed as he really didn't want to go on a fetch quest. He had done that quite enough over the past week. Fletcher nodded

"We'll take care of it" Fletcher responded "Mount up Mitch let's get moving"

Fletcher grabbed his MDR and handgun. He had to walk past Meghan he gave a smile and a wink before he went out the door with Mitchell right behind him. She just smiled and had a soft blush come over her cheeks, before going back to her cams. Emma gave a sly smile as she looked at Meghan.

"So you and Fletcher huh? What really happened when you two were in Koani?" Emma teased in a hushed tone with a smile

Meghan looked at her and shook her head with a soft smile. "Nothing happened, we just got there and got our work done." Meghan tried to shut Emma down

"Uh huh I bet" Emma continued with a smile.

Meghan sighed and shook her head as she worked with her cams. Emma just smiled as she tinkered with her drone. Bowman grabbed a few files and threw them on the table in the room. Nomad was the first to grab on of the files. They were personnel files for the new security, production, influence, and smuggling underbosses and bosses. There was a familiar face of El Muro being the security boss. Everyone else was either a high ranking Mask or LMB officer. The masks had control of smuggling, influence, and production. While the LMB had a strong hold on the security. The SBC was in control of the financials and equipment purchases. Nomad looked at the security underboss, it was an LMB officer by the name and rank of Major Martin Kings. He was a cut throat leader never taking bull shit and was one of the most loyal members of the LMB. Most of his soldiers looked at him like a mini Colonel Bliss only with less rhetoric and charisma. His biggest downfall was being methodical and predictable. Nomad knew that it could be exploited to get Kings in the open. He studied all of Kings Maneuvers from fighting in past wars and conflicts. The safe house was fairly quiet aside from the opening closing of caches that held weapons and ammo.

Mitchell and Fletcher were on their way to Media Luna. They took the Jeep that they took from the Unidad base last week. There were many improvements to jeep mainly to the engine and some of the armor plating. There were now doors and roof on the jeep, there was 3" thick bullet proof glass. The doors were detachable and they could be used like a riot shield if it was needed. It had a hammered metal look to it. There was also mounted gun on the back with a shield on either side of the barrel of the M60. Fletcher's fabrication skills were good but not to the quality of Elena's. The Supercharger whined as they traveled Mitchell was on the gun scanning for any hostiles that maybe nearby. Mitchell was getting restless his patience had worn thin over the past week mainly from his lack of sleep. Fletcher could tell that Mitchell was getting restless by the way he kept shifting around. Fletcher turned on his radio so he didn't have to shout.

"What's on your mind?" Fletcher asked calmly

"Nothing" Mitchell responded

"Yeah right and that's why you are constantly shifting" he retorted

"I'm just ready to get out of here. I also want to shave off the shit on my face and cut my hair." Mitchell let out a sigh

"Why don't you embrace the facial hair and quit whining like a little pussy" Fletcher chuckled

"I don't want facial hair because I look older with it, I really don't want to look like I'm in my forties like you" Mitchell stabbed back

"With old age comes wisdom" Fletcher retorted

Mitchell let out a huff of amusement "Smart ass"

"I know why you really want to go back"

"Yeah what reason would that be?" Mitchell asked smugly

"You really want to go home so you can be with Tina" Fletcher smirked

Mitchell shook his head "I hate that you can read my fucking mind"

Fletcher chuckled as he drove. "Well I don't know what you want me to say"

"You don't say anything you obviously know *Fletcher speaks in sync with Mitchell* what I'm going to say" Mitchell just nodded "see"

Fletcher chuckled "It's good that you have something to look forward to when you get back and you know what you are going to be greeted with when you get back." Fletcher paused for a minute "I'm sorry for dragging you down here away from your girlfriend *emphasis on girlfriend* I needed your help and I didn't know Six was going to send the other three down with us."

"I know brother, I know. You know that I won't say no when it comes to assisting you or anyone else that is family and if Tina beats the snot of me then I will come find you and kick your ass." Mitchell smiled.

"Shit rolls downhill don't it" Fletcher softly chuckled

"You know it"

Mitchell stopped moving around as much as he started calming down. They fell silent for a few minutes.

"What are you doing when we get back?" Mitchell asked forgetting that Fletcher was superstitious

Fletcher thought of Forest asking the very same question. He couldn't help seeing the smile on that kids face. His thoughts quickly transcended to the funeral they had for the team. Mitchell had noticed at how long Fletcher was taking to respond. Mitchell cursed at himself.

"I'm sorry, I forgot" Mitchell responded

"It's ok Mitch, *he lets out a sigh* I don't know what I'm going to do when I get back probably sleep for a day or two, trim up and I don't know and maybe clean up the guns or find something to work on, or something fun like that" Fletcher responded

"You and I have very different ideas fun" Mitchell softly chuckled he smiled as he thought of something "I don't think Meghan would like doing something like that"

Fletcher had a smile "yeah probably not, who knows what she will drag me into" he couldn't even begin to imagine what Meghan would make him do after they got back to base

There was a moment of silence before Mitchell spoke "You know I think her birthday is coming up soon like on Saturday or something like that"

"Hmm" Was that Fletcher responded with as that was a piece of information he didn't know

"You going to get her something?" Mitchell asked curiously

"I might, but we will have to see because I have no idea what she likes or dislikes." Fletcher responded

Mitchell chuckled, they were quiet for about an hour and a half. Fletcher looked at the GPS they were half a klick away from the phone.

"Mitchell keep your eyes peeled we are half a klick away be ready for anything." Fletcher called into his radio

The pulled half way up of the drive before they got out. Their blood tensed as the silence wasn't a good sign. The quietly moved up looking through some of the trees and the tops of them just to be sure. They got to the ping just to see a desk out in the middle of a drive way with no buildings nearby. There was a phone on it they looked at each other with suspicion in their eyes. Mitchell took out one of the recon drones and he drove it up to the desk he didn't see any protruding wires and the phone didn't appear to have any explosives attached to it. It started ringing which told him it wasn't an IED.

"We are clear you gonna answer it?" Mitchell asked as they walked closer.

"I'm not answering the phone." Fletcher responded

Mitchell sighed as he knew what that meant he faced Fletcher "Rock, paper, scissors?"

Fletcher nodded and they proceeded with their game. Fletcher lost both rounds and he hung his head and cussed. He picked up the phone while Mitchell watched his back.

"Hello?" Fletcher asked

"Ah, I see I have got your attention. I would like to make a deal with all of you." It was El Jefe he was trying to bargain with Rainbow and the Ghosts.

Fletcher just laughed, he couldn't help it. Sueño was silent as he was very unimpressed with this man's outburst. Fletcher could tell by Sueño's reaction that he was unimpressed. He stopped laughing and wiped the tears away from his eyes. Mitchell looked at Fletcher funny as he wondered what was said.

"Oh shit you're serious" Fletcher got a last few chuckles out

"I am very serious, I will pay you handsomely if you promise to walk away and out of Bolivia." Sueño leaned back in his chair.

"How much are we talking?" Fletcher became more serious

"How does 450 million US dollars in your personal bank account if you just walk away" Sueño began twirling a pen in his fingers.

"Hmm that sounds nice but what if the law finds out then I'm looking at time in Leavenworth maximum security prison." Fletcher responded calmly

"I will personally buy off anyone who chooses to arrest you, now just give me your account number." Sueño smiled

"Give me a second to call my accountant and get that number for you to put it in my offshore account." Fletcher put the phone on his chest to cover the receiver.

"Take your time" Sueño responded

"Mitchell get Bowman on the line and ask for the LMB bank account number."

"Why?" Mitchell asked

"Just do it Mitch" Fletcher gave a glare

Mitchell nodded and immediately called on the radio. "TOC this is Reaper 2, I need the LMB main bank account number."

"What for?" Bowman called back

"I don't know we are at that phone location and someone I think is trying to buy us off" Mitchell responded

"Then why are you putting the money with the LMB?" Bowman responded

"Well if it's the cartel we can get them to turn on the LMB and cause infighting" Mitchell replied

"Got it let me run up the flag pole" Bowman went silent

"He is getting it right now just give him a second" Fletcher spoke to Sueño

"I'm in no rush" Sueño smiled

"Reaper 2 this is TOC the account number is 72143567052" Bowman reached back

Fletcher heard it and relayed the number to Sueño. "I will have the money to you in the next hour" Sueño just smiled as he was about to save his empire and he hung up and smiled.

Fletcher smiled and looked at Mitchell "Man he is going to be pissed when he figures out where that money is going."

Mitchell smiled as they got back in the Jeep to leave the area. They started heading back to Itacua to get new orders. They didn't get very far before Nomad got on the line.

"Reaper team this is Ghost leader" Nomad called out

"Go for Reaper" Fletcher responded as they traveled

"We have a plan to lure out the LMB officer that is leading the LMB in Bolivia. He is in Montoyac and we need you guys to set off a bomb about one klick east of the base for him to send his forces out and leave an opening for us to infill in the base and take him out you will need to stay in the area so the LMB think that we are driving a full force attack on the village nearby, the rebels are evacing the village as we speak. So don't worry about civilian causalities." Nomad spoke

"We can do that how long until the infill and can we get coordinates?" Fletcher asked

"We have about two hours before he bugs out to another base we will be there within the hour. Sending coordinates to the GPS" Nomad sent the coordinates out.

Mitchell immediately got off the gun and got in the passenger seat and pulled out the map. He looked at the coordinates on the GPS and circled the spot on the map and was showing it to Fletcher while he drove he took peeks of the map seeing what Mitchell was planning out. Fletcher stomped on the accelerator trying to make the timeline. He continued to peek at the map every few seconds.

"Move your timeline up, Sueño tried to buy us off and we gave him the LMB account number and they will most likely turn on each other so you might have Sicarios and LMB duking it out by the time you get there. We will try to be on time, if we aren't I will set up a hide about half a klick east of the target location while Reaper 2 will set an ambush one klick west of the target base." Fletcher replied

"Got it we are moving out now just get here as soon as possible."

"Roger that Reaper actual out" Fletcher killed the transmission.

"We aren't going to make it in time" Mitchell looked to Fletcher

"I know but we still have to try, just be ready for anything and everything." Fletcher responded

 **0900 hours Montoyac province**

Nomad and the rest of the team aside from Cav who was back at the safe house. Were examining the base it was large mainly because of the air strip in the rear of the base. There was a small obstacle course at the center of the base Sicario's were running drills. There were concrete walls surrounding all sides of the base. There was a cafeteria in the center off to the side of the commander's office which looked like a standard command building. There were other smaller buildings such as armories, communication buildings, and there were two or three infirmaries all spread out through the base. There was a small motor pool that only had a few armored trucks and personnel carriers. Weaver was watching the guards closely watching their every move and pointing out their weaknesses. The Rainbow ops were checking their kits one last time before shit hit the fan. Cadmen was quietly thinking about the LMB, he was curious as to why they hadn't been using the support stations and turrets like they were in New York. Alibi just looked at the base as another target and was waiting to be let off the chain. Twitch was running her drone all over the base identifying points of interest. The other Ghosts were on their drones scanning targets. Nomad was checking his watch he was getting nervous as he didn't like the idea of having to fight off a whole a battalion of LMB and maybe even Sicario's. He was hoping Fletcher and Mitchell would show up on time. It was getting down to the final minutes before the team had to make their move.

"Ghost leader this Reaper 1" Fletcher called

"Go ahead" Nomad responded

"We will not make it to target on time it's best you make your move we will go with the secondary plan. Reaper 2 is on his way to setting up the explosives, I'm working on getting to my infill point I will neutralize as many targets as I can." Fletcher was moving to the vantage point he chose an hour ago.

"Roger that we are commencing attack" Nomad replied

"Move out you know the drill" Nomad spoke calmly

With that the team pushed out of the bushes and they were moving to their infill points. Valkyrie and Alibi were pushing in from the rear. Twitch and Weaver were acting as sniper support even though Twitch wasn't a sniper she could still plink people away with a long gun. Midas and Holt were pushing in from the East. Nomad and Cadmen were pushing in from the West. There entrance was slow and quiet. They picked off their targets as they went along. There was a convoy coming in the main entrance. Nomad heard the disturbance and he threw his drone up in the air.

"All teams hold position" Nomad whispered

"What for?" Valkyrie asked

"SBC convoy coming the main entrance" he responded

The Convoy stopped in the middle of the base. All of the Sicario's unloaded and El Muro stepped out of one of the vehicles. Nomad's eyes widened.

"Ghost 2-2 El Muro is on site can you confirm?" Nomad whispered

Weaver and Twitch adjusted their aim to the convoy they looked at each other and nodded. Weaver reached down to his radio.

"Confirmed El Muro is on site, are we adjusting targets?" Weaver replied

"Confirmed, all callsigns we are switching targets to El Muro" Nomad called into his radio

Everyone called into the radio to confirm they knew that the target changed. They continued their push.

El Muro walked into Kings office. Kings was sitting at his desk signing a paper without moving his head he looked at El Muro who took a seat at the desk.

"I told you to tell me when you are coming and not to use fucking military vehicles." Kings still didn't look up from his paper

"I know you did" El Muro looked at Kings with contempt "But why are your men assisting the Americanos in their mission?" El Muro asked

"I would never help those assholes I wouldn't gain anything from it, don't accuse me unless you have concrete evidence against me." Kings retorted and he had an unimpressed look on his face

"I do have evidence. One of your men showed up to where Sueño was going to bribe the Americans. Your man gave Sueño your company's bank account. You have our money. Again why are you assisting the Americans?" El Muro asked again

"I'm not assisting because like I said I wouldn't gain anything out of it. My men are only in Montoyac and the other regions that hold major strategic value. Unless the call was made from Montoyac it would be impossible for my men to answer that call." Kings laid back in his chair his patience was wearing thin.

"Lair, you know your men answered the call" El Muro stood up out of his seat

Kings pressed a yellow button under his desk. "If you are so sure then who was it that called?" Kings asked.

The teams were pushing in quietly. All of a sudden the LMB started to grab their rifles and kits and go to an alert status. Everyone noticed the LMB and they stopped dead in their tracks and hid thinking they were discovered.

"Ghost leader this Ghost 2-2 have you been spotted? Do we need to take action?" Weaver asked.

"No we have not been spotted The LMB seem to be spooked mission has not changed continue with previous tasking orders." Nomad whispered into his radio.

"It looks there is a fight going on between El Muro and Kings." Fletcher called in

"QUIT LYING TO ME YOU ARE THE ONE TRYING TO TEAR DOWN OUR EMPIRE!" El Muro shouted the argument had escalated to a yelling match.

"NO, I'M JUST TO DO A JOB AND TRAIN YOUR DUMBASS SICARIO'S WHO CAN'T DO SHIT" Kings retorted

"MAYBE IF YOU FOCUSED ON THEM MORE THAN YOUR DEAD SISTER THEN THEY MIGHT BE SMARTER" El Muro didn't know it but he crossed a line

Kings fell silent as his anger filled his mind he clenched his fist and gave a menacing stare. There wasn't much that pissed of Kings but talking about his sister in any bad way was guaranteeing you a body bag. He lost his sister to the green poison virus, she escaped New York before the quarantine but it killed her after she got to Kings house in Brooklyn. It devastated him he was desperately searching for the person who released the virus even after the quarantine ended. He never found the person who released the virus was but he couldn't help but to be locked in a never ending chase to find them.

"What are going to do?" El Muro mockingly asked as he (El Muro) turned his back to grab his gun.

Kings had enough of El Muro's accusations and he was tired of having to deal with the incompetence of the cartel warriors and the masks. He drew an auto mag IV out of his holster at lightning speed and sent the forty five Winchester magnum round through El Muro's head. He held the smoking gun and watched El Muro's body collapse to the floor.

"So uncivilized" Kings shook his head and grabbed his radio "All LMB soldiers this is your commanding officer, Destroy all cartel warriors and property we are leaving Bolivia." Kings set his radio down.

"SHIT, Kings just dropped El Muro, we need move now!" Fletcher spoke with urgency

"Throwing out a support station" an LMB medic shouted as he advanced and tossed the box out on to the ground the riflemen immediately walked into the green circle. They started gunning down cartel members. The sicarios had no idea what was going on, a few of them made it to cover before getting mowed down by the LMB.

"Setting up a turret" a Combat engineer yelled

The LMB and the sicario's became locked in a fight, it was one sided as the LMB had much better equipment and weapons. The team was very confused as to what was going on.

"Everyone pull out now we don't need anyone caught in a cross fire." Nomad spoke calmly

"What about Kings?" Valkyrie asked

"We will get him at Reaper 2's ambush location just get out of the base." Nomad replied

The team was starting to pull out, there was the sound of a device spooling up it was louder than the gunfight between the LMB and the SBC. There was a loud boom but there was no explosion and there was a smoke cloud coming from one of the armories.

"What was that?" Alibi called on the radio there wasn't even static on the return

"Ghost actual?" Alibi looked at Valkyrie

Valkyrie shrugged "We need to get out of here just go we will link up with them in a minute."

Nomad and Cadmen were making their way to the exterior wall so they could jump out. Cadmen helped Nomad over the wall he noticed his watch flicker his SHD tech was deactivated, he knew exactly what that meant.

"FUCK" Cadmen shouted

"WHAT?" Nomad asked with his hand extended to help Cadmen over the wall.

"HUNTER! GET THE FUCK OUT NOW I WILL PULL HIM AWAY!" Cadmen shouted

He slammed a new mag into his LVOA and just as he was about to put some distance between him and the rest of the team, the Hunter dropped on top of Cadmen with his tomahawk in hand ready to strike Cadmen down. Nomad was shocked and startled by the action and he fell off on the other side of the wall. Nomad was about to go through the main gate to get to Cadmen, however he heard Cadmen yell over the wall.

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE I GOT THIS!"

Nomad left and started his retreat. Cadmen was able to stop the incoming blow he flipped the Hunter off of him. He went for his rifle and he saw the hunter grabbed the shotgun loaded with shock rounds off his (Hunter) back out of the corner of his eye. He dove for cover and the Hunter missed his mark by a few centimeters. Cadmen had rolled out where he was right behind the LMB lines. The LMB noticed Cadmen.

"DIVISION AGENT TAKE HIM OUT" a platoon Sargent yelled

The LMB focused on Cadmen and started shooting at him. Cadmen had no choice but to run, he saw the hunter fight the LMB, the Hunter pulled them apart like cotton candy. Cadmen just ran through a cafeteria that was vacant trying to escape. His SHD tech had come back online and he pulled a Kriss Vector out of his bag as he ran. He switched over to his Ballistic shield and he rolled out into the main staging area and deployed his shield he started mowing down the LMB and he cleared a path for himself. He could hear the Hunters EMP burst spooling up.

"FUCK YOU!" Cadmen shouted at the Hunter as he did his best to make distance and reloaded his Vector

The burst went off, forcefully powering down Cadmen's tech again. The Hunter was unrelenting and fired another shot from his shotgun, striking Cadmen's shield. The other man screamed as the shock rounds sent electricity flowing through his shield and into his body. His muscles locked him in place. The Hunter ran as fast as he could and landed a good hit into Cadmen's side with the tomahawk, who let out a blood curdling scream. Despite that, he unloaded a magazine in the Hunter's direction, who hid behind cover, to which Cadmen did the same. He placed his hand on his side, blood dripping to the floor. He grabbed a canister filled with green nanites and pressed the button, screaming again as the little robots quickly fixed his wound. His breathing staggered, he loaded another mag into his Vector as his kit came online. Then, he ran again, sliding over the hoods of a few trucks like the Duke boys. He killed any LMB in his path, running to a back exit, base with the Hunter on his tail.

Midas and Holt were the first ones out of the base and they had already made their way to Weaver's position. They were both panting as they watched the fire fight between the Cartel and the LMB.

"What happened?" Holt asked

"Kings shot El Muro and all hell broke loose" Weaver sent a round down range taking out an LMB rifleman.

"Fuck, a warning would have been nice." Midas said

They heard the brush to their left shifting around and moving. They quickly trained their guns on the foliage. Nomad was the one to pop out he was also breathing somewhat heavily.

"What the hell was that boss? Where is Cadmen?" Holt asked

"I don't know all I know is that something went wrong. I don't know about Cadmen either he said something about a hunter and that I needed to go and that was all I heard from over the wall" He kneeled down and checked his magazine

Alibi and Valkyrie were the next to make it to sniper team's location they too were winded.

"What the hell happened to the radio?" Alibi asked

"What do you mean?" Twitch asked

"There was a loud boom and the radio's stopped working" Alibi quickly replied

Nomad pressed the button on the radio "Check, Alpha, Michael, Foxtrot"

No one heard the radio's relay an of Nomad's statement. "FUCK!" Nomad wiped his hand over his face. This entire operation was a cluster fuck.

They heard the sound of a truck they raised their weapons ready to take out the vehicle. Once it was in range the realized who it was. Fletcher stomped on the brakes and the Jeep slid a few feet before coming to a full stop.

"Get in damn it!" Fletcher yelled

They all got in the Jeep and headed straight for Mitchell's position. They went off road and hid the Jeep the best they could in the brush. Mitchell was there to greet them.

"What the hell happened?" Mitchell asked

"Kings shot El Muro and the LMB started attacking the SBC" Nomad said getting out "How is the set up out here?" Nomad asked

"I have explosives running along the side of the road. On one detonator, I have another phase line running through the road on a second detonator, and lastly I have a rock side ready to drop on to the road as well." Mitchell spoke

"What has the traffic been like through here?" Nomad asked

"Nothing I'm assuming the SBC and LMB have the road on lock down" Mitchell replied

"Fletcher set up down the road, Weaver get up in the trees, the rest of us are going to set up on either side of the road Mitchell you are in charge of the detonators. You call when you are about to set them off" Nomad commanded

The team set up very quickly, they had a really good cross fire set up on the road. The team also went back to the sat phones as their radio system was still fried. The LMB had finally got done chalking up all of the sicarios they were moving out to the nearest airport, the company's C-17 couldn't land on the airstrip as it wouldn't have room to get off the ground again. The LMB were moving hard and fast to avoid any ambush or attack by the sicario's and the Masks. The LMB were moving down the road that the team had on lock down.

"LMB convoy coming down the road, 300 yards from your position." Fletcher called in the phone

"Got it, setting off the charges on the rock side." Mitchell replied

He gave the detonator a squeeze, the explosion dropped the rock face right on to the road the lead vehicle stomped on the brakes. Kings was in the lead vehicle.

"Back up we will find another way around" spoke into his radio

The convoy quickly started backing up they wouldn't get too far.

"Setting off second phase line" Mitchell called

He gave the second detonator a hard squeeze the road behind the convoy exploded locking the LMB in place. "All teams fire" Nomad called into the radio. The team started opening up from brush that lined the road. The LMB were fish in a barrel they couldn't go anywhere. Luckily the vehicles they were in had bullet proof glass and armor plating so the rounds couldn't exactly penetrate into the vehicle. "All units wait until they reload then we will counter attack and take them out" Kings readied his men. Almost as if on que the team stopped shooting and quickly reloaded and waited for the LMB to get out of their vehicles. The LMB soldiers slowly got out of their vehicles weapons readied. Fletcher set his crosshairs on one of the riflemen. He steadied his breath and sent the round down range. The round went through the soldier's neck he slowly crumpled to the ground.

"SINPER" A grenadier called out

The rest of the soldiers cowered behind the doors of the vehicles. The rest of the team opened up rounds ricocheted off the armored plating of the vehicles. The LMB just fired into the brush not knowing the exact location of their enemy. Kings and his command staff had no choice but to stay put in his vehicle. They were ready to fight if needed. The rest of their platoon was holding their spot. A grenadier reached for his MGL.

"FRAGS OUT" the grenadier shouted

He launched a volley of grenades. They weren't close to the team yet. Mitchell put the grenadier in his sights and dispatched the grenadier with ease.

"SHIT MICHEALS IS DOWN" A scout yelled "I'M MOVING IN"

The scout moved into the brush with his SASG. He moved faster than Ash, he jumped over the brush with ease. He got to Twitch and Midas position. Between the gun fire and the metal pinging from the rounds bouncing off it the operators couldn't hear the scout moving in. The scout quickly grabbed his radio.

"HOSTILES NINE O'CLOCK 50 YARDS DEEP" The scout shouted into his radio

"ROGER AJUSTING FIRE" one of the Sargent yelled.

The operators still didn't hear him. The rest of the LMB had started unloading in that direction rounds bounced off the trees. Splinters were flying everywhere dirt was kicking up into the air. Rounds wizzed by the operators heads. The scout moved up behind them and fired a round into Midas's back. Twitch quickly rolled onto her back and fired off a burst from her 417 in a panic. They both fell back. Twitch threw a fresh mag into her 417. Midas laid on the ground groaning in pain he put his hand on his back feeling for blood and bullet holes, he could feel blood oozing out of his lower back. He couldn't feel his legs although he could move his toes. The Scout smiled knowing his opponent didn't have time to call for back up. He pushed out from behind the tree running in the direction of Twitch. He was about to run passed the tree that Twitch was using as cover she swung her rifle like a club. The stock of the rifle hit the scout's chest knocking him onto the ground. The scout coughed with widened eyes his hand on his chest where the stock of the rifle hit. Twitch brought the rifle down on to the man's head knocking him unconscious. She immediately ran over to Midas despite the incoming fire. She rolled up his shirt and she could see where the buck shot entered his body. She cursed and started applying pressure.

"How bad?" Midas asked

Twitch didn't comment as she was applying aid to stop the bleeding. "WE HAVE A MAN DOWN HE NEEDS IMMEDIATE EVAC" She shouted into the radio

"ROGER, I'M GOING FOR THE CHOPPER HOLD OUT" Holt replied

Holt started his sprint to the chopper that was roughly four klicks away. The LMB started to push to their location Twitch had no choice but to start dumping rounds down range. Valkyrie and Alibi were picking off targets as they saw them. They both noticed the LMB move in the direction of Twitch and Midas.

"Twitch you have a large force moving on your position we are coming to assist!" Valkyrie shouted

Alibi and Valkyrie started rotating to Twitch and Midas. Nomad also was making his way over Weaver was keeping Nomad covered, Mitchell was picking off the stragglers that were covering their buddies. Fletcher didn't have a good picture on the target as the exploded rock face was blocking his view. Kings saw an opportunity to sneak out and get away, he rallied his command staff and they moved over to the east. They scrambled over to the brush, Kings' Captain was out first with a shield covering for Kings so he wouldn't be picked off. The rest of the command staff rallied behind the shield as they slowly shifted over to the east.

"Mitchell Kings and his command staff are moving to the brush in the east" Fletcher called into the phone

"I see them I'm moving closer, can you take care of the shield?" Mitchell asked

"Yeah gimme a minute" Fletcher replied

The top of the shield bearer's head was able to be shot, it was still a small target. Fletcher made his calculations and put his crosshairs on the safety glass of the shield users' helmet. He exhaled slowly, his heartbeat was steady. He found the gap between heartbeats and he dispatched the round with ease. The round shattered the glass on the helmet the round, continued and shattered the jaw of the shield user. The round finally exited and fragmented onto Kings face. The rest of the command staff got blood all over their faces.

"Shield is down" Fletcher chambered a fresh .338 lupa round.

Kings gripped his face and screamed, his medic also his lieutenant grabbed his arm and rushed him into the brush. Leaving the second lieutenant to be picked off by the sniper.

"I'M FUCKING DONE WITH THIS FUCKING COUNTRY" Kings shouted His medic started patching up his face.

The group of LMB was pushing in closer to Twitch and Midas. Twitch was firing off rounds as fast as she could, her 417 sounded as if it were in full auto. Valkyrie and Alibi came up on their flank. Valkyrie and Alibi picked off targets as they moved closer to Twitch and Midas. They came up behind the two and started picking off the LMB as they got closer. The LMB started to clump together. Mitchell smiled and loaded his incendiary.

"ALL FRIENDLIES TO THE WEST GET BEHIND SOMETHING SOLID AND NON FLAMABLE IF POSSIBLE" Mitchell shouted into the SAT phone

"WHY?!" Alibi asked

"DANGER CLOSE ORDINANCE" Mitchell replied

With that the team quickly took cover Twitch pulled Midas behind a log. Alibi and Valkyrie got behind a couple of trees that were rather thick like thiccer than Rook. Valkyrie pinched her nose shut so she wouldn't smell the burning flesh. Nomad stopped behind a tree and he continued to shoot at the LMB riflemen. Mitchell fired his grenade *PHOMP* the grenade went above the group. The world seemed to move in slow motion for Kings, a riflemen looked up and behind him. His eyes widened with fear. *BOOM* the grenade echoed throughout the valley, a fireball with a 2ft diameter formed above the group the air was quickly turned into fire. The LMB soldiers lost their breath for a minute as the oxygen was sucked out of air around them before being lit on fire. Their once confident calls turned into screams of mercy, their fatigues and kits burned. The world returned to it's normal pace. Kings was powerless in saving his men as they burned he and his lieutenant watched in awe and sorrow as the men they called brothers were purged with the fire. Kings felt guilt for dragging his men into this mess and getting them killed. His fist clenched tightly as rage filled his blood a string of curses flowed from his mouth and a tear dripped from his eye. The LMB soldiers that didn't burst into flames started to retreat but they were picked off with ease. There was only a rifleman, an engineer, and a scout who made it back to the vehicles. They looked at each other demoralized, they threw down their guns and kits and they threw their hands in the air. Kings lieutenant ran out to reengage in the fight, the instant the medic made it to the road he was picked off by Fletcher. Kings laid back in the brush he was going to make his last stand, he loaded a fresh mag into his auto mag and he grabbed his STG 77 and he put his sights on the road.

The team quickly grabbed Midas and got away from the area where the airburst went off, the team got to the vehicles, they were all panting as the adrenaline started to ware off. Mitchell came out of the brush and started to restrain those who surrendered Nomad came around and pointed his rifle at the men. Weaver got out of the tree he was in, he ran over to Midas and started triage.

"Has anyone seen Kings?" Nomad asked as Mitchell restrained the last man.

"I think he was on the side of road where Mitchell was." Fletcher called in

"Got we will check over there." Nomad replied

Nomad and Mitchell walked over to that side of the road. They checked every bush and tree. Kings laid quietly as he listened for them to get closer before he made his final move. Mitchell and Nomad got closer the brush crunching under their steps. Kings heart raced as the footsteps became louder. Nomad walked right passed Kings, Mitchell tripped over Kings. He fell to the ground and he dropped his rifle, Kings was quick and he grabbed Mitchell and he wrapped his arm around Mitchell's throat and put his auto mag flush to Mitchell's temple. He had his back to Fletcher, Nomad trained his rifle on Kings as Kings backed up slowly. He was slightly taller than Mitchell his forehead was big enough that it peeked over Mitchell's helmet. Mitchell didn't struggle to get free as he knew it would end badly for him so he went with the flow. Fletcher didn't have a shot, he no choice but to watch. His heart pounded he could hear his heart in his ears.

"Drop the gun and him, you have a chance to walk away from all of this" Nomad calmly stated

"I'M NOT GOING TO PRISON, I HAVE NOTHING LEFT WALK TO, YOU KILLED MY BROTHERS. YOU FRAMED US AND YOU KILLED US." Kings shouted

The others heard the shouting and quickly moved Weaver stayed with Midas. The rest rushed over they all raised their guns and followed Kings as he slowly stepped back.

"Kings stop and listen, you won't go to prison just come with us." Nomad continued calmly

"I HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE, I'M NOT GOING WITH A BUNCH MURDERS" Kings shouted

Fletcher had an idea, it was risky but it would allow Mitchell to walk and kill Kings. Only issue was that Mitchell and Nomad would be the only ones who would understand it.

"Mitchell ochered' yemu vokruq" (turn him around in Russian) Fletcher called into the phone

Nomad and Mitchell both got it and Nomad began rotating behind Kings and Mitchell did his best to pull Kings around to face Fletcher. The others were confused but they didn't move their sights off of Kings. Kings pulled tighter on Mitchell's throat making him groan. Kings eyes were burning with intensity. Mitchell held up four fingers followed by five and zero his hand was up to his chest. Kings was too busy looking at Nomad to see Mitchell feeding the range to Fletcher. Fletcher started feeding the calculations into his rifle. He knew the windage, he slowed his heart rate to 70 beats a minute. Kings wasn't moving a lot, Fletcher had a small target he was taking his time to make sure he didn't kill Mitchell.

"I HAVE NO WHERE ELSE TO GO, I'M NOT HELPING YOU FUCK HEADS NOT IN A MILLION YEARS." Kings continued to shout

Nomad kept trying to calm Kings, but it wasn't going to work. Fletcher could honestly relate to Kings. He knew what it was like to lose everything and have no real reason to carry on. Fletcher was going to do Kings a favor and reunite him with his men and his sister. Fletcher put his crosshairs on Kings forehead. He took one last breath his world slowed only sound in his ears was his heartbeat. He found the gap between beats and right on que the bullet left the rifle, the bullet seemed to travel forever. After one second the round skimmed the top of Mitchell's helmet and went through Kings head. His blood went everywhere Fletcher opened the bolt on his rifle the empty cartridge made a subtle click on the ground next to him. Time seemed to restore itself to normal. Kings body collapsed to the floor his eyes staring into the great nothing, his mouth open as if he were to speak. His auto mag landed on the ground next to him. Mitchell collapsed to his hands and knees breathing heavily he looked up to Fletcher and gave a thumbs up. With that Fletcher started his decent. The rest of the team had went back to Midas and giving all the help they could. Mitchell was waiting for Fletcher. He walked up to Mitchell.

"You alright?" he asked

"Yeah you nicked my helmet though" Mitchell smirked and nodded

Mitchell watched Fletcher, this wasn't an unusual thing for Fletcher to do. Fletcher knelt down to Kings' corpse. His eyes staring into oblivion, his mouth open as if he were to speak. His hand was open and it looked as if it were clutching an imaginary pistol. Fletcher closed Kings' eyes and mouth, He also moved Kings' hands to his chest and put Kings' auto mag in his hands. Fletcher finished it off with the catholic cross over Kings' body. Fletcher put his hand on Kings chest with his eyes closed almost saying a prayer for the man. Two minutes passed and he got up. They started walking over to the rest of the group.

"What's going on with Midas?" Fletcher asked

"He took a shotgun blast to the back, he says he can move his toes, so the buckshot must have missed any important vertebrae." Mitchell replied

"Yeah but he could still have partial paralysis however it is a good sign that he can move his lower body"

They got over to the rest of the team, Fletcher started do his examination, and he cut off Midas' shirt and took his plate carrier off. The buckshot wasn't terribly deep but he would still need to be cut open in order to get the shot out of his back. The team was standing around waiting for Holt to get back with the chopper. As they were waiting another team of four came from up the road all they saw was the carnage and destruction from the fire fight. One of the members of this team was mister Keener himself. This team didn't have any idea that the Ghosts and Rainbow were still there. They continued forward they heard the voices of the other team on the other side of the LMB vehicles. They used hand signals to communicate. Like lightening the hostile force surrounded to operators. The friendly forces were caught off guard. Weaver made a grab for his rifle only to have his rifle shot. Rainbow and the Ghosts knew they were in a tight spot and any hostile move could get them killed. Fletcher didn't even bother to make a grab for his rifle he just looked at the men surrounding them and he went back to work on Midas. Meghan really wanted to grab the MPX at her hip and smoke these fuckers but she has strong self-discipline. Emma was curious as to who these guys worked for. Alibi was formulating a plan on how to get out alive. Nomad was his calming self. Weaver had no choice but to sit and watch. Mitchell knew who these people were and any form of patience that was lasting in him was gone, it pissed him off that these guys were still here.

"Just keep that rifle on the ground there" the leader spoke to Weaver

"You mother Fucker" Mitchell spoke with hate his eyes filled with rage

"You have developed quite a mouth since we last spoke." The leader mocked

Everyone looked at Mitchell in confusion wondering how the two were connected.

"I see you are still wearing the old patch" Fletcher chimed in as he put fresh gauze on Midas' wound.

"It's hard to let go sometimes" The leader replied

"Who are you?" Twitch asked curiously

"I'm surprised Harding or Mitchell haven't told you" the leader continued

"Jester?" Twitch asked

"That'd be me" Jester spoke from behind Mitchell

Everyone was thrown through a loop they were curious as to who the other two were. They looked at the team who were holding them hostage for any clues.

"You fucking traitors" Mitchell clenched his fist hard

"We aren't as bad as you think Mitchell." The leader continued

"You help fucking terrorist cause havoc against innocence, the fuck do you mean we aren't as bad as I think." Mitchell was staring bullets into their leader.

"I remember when you all had honor and a high moral code" Fletcher spoke calmly "especially you Keegan" Fletcher looked to their sniper

"I never lost it cowboy" Keegan replied

"My ass" was all that Fletcher responded with

"Fletcher who are these people?" Valkyrie asked

"The one holding the MSR is Keengan Thompson, the older fellow holding the G36 is John Milner, and you have already met Donny Reid and Aaron Keener" Fletcher replied calmly

"I'm surprised you remember me" Keener smiled

Fletcher remained quiet as he continued to work on Midas. Mitchell was foaming at the mouth to get just a piece of Donny.

"What is it that you want?" Alibi asked

"What do you mean?" Hades asked

"You obviously want something because you would have killed us had you not had a motive" She spoke "So what do you want?"

"Quite perceptive of you, we want you to leave Bolivia" Hades responded

"We will after we are through with Sueno" Alibi continued

"No, leave now never look back because if you do our next greeting will not be so friendly" Hades' words had a bite to them

Keener was getting bored and he didn't like leaving loose ends. The chopper could be heard coming in.

"It was nice chatting with you all but unfortunately we do have a time frame to maintain." Keener smiled.

The enemy team lowered their guns however Keener had other plans, he drew his M45 Meusoc and fired a round. The bullet went through Twitch's lower left abdomen it continued into the center of Valkyrie's stomach where it fragmented into several pieces and it didn't leave her body.

 **Valkyrie's POV**

It happened so fast I was standing then I wasn't. _"I hope Emma is alright" I spoke to myself._ I reached for my medkit on my chest rig, my whole body felt numb. It was the weirdest feeling I have ever felt. Blood soaked my shirt, I fumbled for the gauze in the kit. I heard a scuffle and shots rang out I looked up Harding, Mitchell, and Nomad had engaged. They had secured the area around us. I put as much pressure on the wound as I could. The others continued to fight it out as I laid in the dirt. I heard a metallic click and I looked over to my right, thinking it was a frag, it was Weaver popping smoke. The smoke made a pop my vision quickly became grey, I continued to put pressure on my wound. I felt someone pull my plate carrier I looked up to see Mitchell he was firing into the smoke with his handgun, I could hear the shells hitting the ground next to me as he dragged me across the ground. I could hear Nomad talking to Holt I assume I can't quite make it out, I was too busy trying to stop my blood. I might have been dragged miles I don't really know I think I blacked out a little at one point. We finally stopped and Harding came into view, his eyes were focused. He moved my hands away from the wound he lifted my upper body. He was checking for an exit wound, he set me down and I could see the panic in his eyes.

"How bad?" I asked

"It's bad, Holt get that fucking chopper down now!" He yelled

I was trying my hardest not to panic. I heard another pop and I could see green smoke out of the corner of my eye. My eyes felt tired, the chopper finally came into view, the wind from the blades felt nice across my face. My vision went black again but it came back. I was staring into the sky watching the blades of the chopper spin.

"On three, one…two…THREE" Harding yelled

I felt myself leave the ground, they must have put me on a stretcher. They set me down on the steel floor. I kept pressure on the wound, I looked to my left and I could see Midas be loaded in next to me on a stretcher as well. Emma stumbled into the chopper and she took a seat it looked like she stopped most of the bleeding. _"Good" I thought._ She had bandages wrapped around her waist. Aria was helping her with her wound. I could hear Nomad get into the co-pilot seat. Weaver got into the fuselage with the rest of us. Mitchell followed him in only he kneeled on the floor next to me, he extended my right arm and he lightly smacked the inside of my elbow followed by a soft piercing pain. He reached up to the roof and hung a bag on the ceiling. Harding was on my left between me and Midas, he was clutching my hand. With his free hand he smacked the side of the chopper three times. With that I could feel us leave the ground. I looked to my left to see Fletcher's face, he had a dirt ring around his eyes from his balaclava, and his hair was a mess. I couldn't help but stare at him. He didn't look me in the eye, I don't know why, maybe it was fear. I felt him tug at the gauze on my stomach, he held a flashlight in his mouth. He softly tugged at the wound, I screamed out in pain, he continued on, I know he had too but it hurt like hell. I could feel tears in my eyes. He shook his head and put the gauze back over the wound. He went back to holding my hand, He was trying to keep me focused so I squeezed as hard as I could so I wouldn't black out. I could tell he was worried I don't know if the others could see it but it was his eyes that gave him away, I wanted to give him a hug and tell him everything was going to be ok. I myself didn't know if things were going to be ok. I blacked out again, I looked up and saw Mitchell at my head and Nomad by my feet. I heard a door open and they set me on a table.

"Mitchell get me a light, someone get a surgeon to work on Midas. Nomad or somebody I'm going to need you to hold her down." Harding shouted

" _Why do I need to be held down?" I asked myself_

"I GOT IT" Bowman's voice echoed

A few seconds later Bowman held my arms above my head I couldn't figure out why. Mitchell came back with a shop light, Harding hung the light up from the ceiling. Mitchell cut my shirt off and he threw my plate carrier to the floor. I got chills as the cool breeze wafted over my body, I blushed as my bra was the only article of clothing on my upper body aside from my shemagh. Harding stabbed me with something I looked down and he chucked an empty vile of morphine I assume to the floor. He said something and turned on the light. He had latex gloves on similar to Gustave's.

"Mitchell hand me the clamp and the needle nose" Harding spoke calmly

"Here" Mitchell replied he was on my left

I felt something enter the wound it started spreading the wound. I screamed, my body reflexed but I couldn't move Nomad must have been holding my ankles. I finally understood why I needed to be held down. I could feel tears of pain travel down my face. I blacked out yet again, when I regained consciousness I saw Harding drop the bullet into a metal bowl. It looked like the one he used to hold bolts and screws for the Jeep. I heard the click of the bullet and I thought we were done, then I felt him go deep again. I screamed at the top of my lungs and my whole body racked trying to get free and away. I could feel more tears stream down my face. I blacked out again.

 **POV ends**

 **2354 hours Itacua Echo**

Fletcher had finished operating on Meghan six hours ago. He was sitting in the back of the safe house. Everyone else was up by the front of the safe house. There was talk of sending Midas to El Paso to have a more complex surgery to ensure that he had his ability to walk. Fletcher had Hawg's dog tag in his hand, his thumb running over stamping in the metal. He was genuinely worried about Meghan, he was confident that he got all of the fragments of the bullet out of Meghan's body, however he was still unsure on if he got every single one. He looked out at the moon as if searching for answers. Mitchell walked back and he was leaning against the door frame watching Fletcher.

"She is going to be fine" Mitchell smirked

"I hope so" Fletcher replied quietly

Mitchell walked closer and sat down next to him "Talk to me, what's going through your head?"

"I don't know if I can lose another one" Fletcher responded as he looked to the tags before looking out to the moon again "This is starting to feel like Libya again"

Mitchell nodded "This is nothing like Libya, here we actually stand a fighting chance. You aren't giving her enough credit"

Fletcher looked to Mitchell with a furrowed brow. "What I'm trying to say, is that Meghan is tougher than you think she is a natural born fighter much like you are." Mitchell continued

Fletcher nodded he remained silent, he kept rubbing his thumb across Hawg's tags as if he was trying to conjure her spirit. Silence filled the air between them. It wasn't an awkward silence more of an understanding silence.

"Fletcher you need to relax and think positive for a change. She is going to make it" Mitchell broke their silence.

"What if she doesn't?" Fletcher looked to Mitchell with agitation

"Then you did everything you could and it's not up to you to decide who lives and who dies. It's up to you to have faith and try to keep people alive. You also can't just give up on someone because they had a bad injury. Remember Chicago with Jordan? That was much worse than this and you didn't give up then so don't give up on her." Mitchell spoke calmly

"I remember Chicago but here is the difference, I like Meghan a lot. I'm not giving up on her I'm concerned that I fucked up and may have missed a fragment and I don't want her to die from an infection because of me fucking up." Fletcher replied

"I know brother, all I'm asking is that you have a little faith and try to believe in her and yourself" Mitchell almost spoke in a threatening tone

Fletcher raised his hands to his chest as if to surrender. Mitchell shook his head and looked out the window. They watched the moon in silence. Taina was quietly spying on the two. She didn't really know why but she wanted something to do and this was better than nothing. She couldn't help but think of her little brother and she wanted to talk to him again just to see how he was doing.

 **Valkyrie POV Continues**

I regained my consciousness, but something was off. I wasn't in Bolivia, I was in a house? I sat up in the bed and gathered my surroundings. I felt my stomach and there was no blood no gauze no nothing, I was wearing my pajamas. I looked around the room the walls were a light grey. The walls had a lot of pictures on them, I got out of the bed to investigate. The floor was cold I looked down and I was barefoot which was normal. I walked over to the wall and I pulled a picture down. It was a picture of me and Harding in our dress blues we were taking a selfie. He looked happy and I did too. I hung it back up on the wall were it belonged, I looked at another one and it was of us again. This time it looked like a profession picture, Fletcher was dressed in tux my lord did he look handsome. My heart skipped a beat when I saw I was wearing white we were holding hands and it looked like we were going in for a kiss. I hung it back up and shook my head _"this is a weird ass dream" I spoke to myself_. I looked over to a small end table that sat in the room and I looked closer, it held pictures of our deployments and time in rainbow I assume. I came across one picture it was of Mitchell and Fletcher in a desert, they were dressed in their old Ranger combat wears both were holding M4's. They were standing next to a building it didn't look like anything important, but they were smiling and leaning on the wall. I set the picture back down. I looked at another it was me and Fletcher and the rest of the team at Hereford everyone was dressed in combat wears, at the bottom it read "Mask Breakers of Team Rainbow 2023" my brow furrowed. I noticed there were a few members missing I couldn't pick out which ones. I set the picture down and I shook my head.

" _Why is dream so weird?" I asked myself_

I couldn't come up with any conclusion as to why this felt weird, I decided to go investigate the house. I stepped out of the bedroom and looked around, there was a hallway with a few doors. I walked down the hall and I looked at the doors they were decorated with various items, one had the name Valerie in cursive writing it was engraved into the door I looked to the other door right across hall it had Angela written in the same cursive. I opened the door to Valerie's room and it looked like my old room it had awards all over the walls and shelves. The one difference was that there was a bow on the wall, I couldn't tell what bow it was, but it was a compound bow. I saw a picture on the desk and I looked at it. It had a Blonde girl in her twenties it looked like, she had green eyes and she was in top physical condition. She was wearing a black t shirt and jeans. She looked like me when I was younger she had a few different facial features but it was freaky. There was a guy in the picture it honestly looked like a younger Mitchell that was even scarier. I put the picture back and I shut the door, my curiosity told me to look at the other room, so I did. This looked more like a guy's room, there was various sports memorabilia lying around and a few posters of different sport teams I didn't recognize. There were model cars on these shelves and there a few car parts lying around on the desks. I looked to the wall and there was a gun rack, there was an M110 SASS on the top rack and a Honey Badger on the bottom rack. There was another picture, of course I looked at it. This was another girl she had long black hair with dirty blonde highlights. She had yellow eyes she looked like she had some of Fletchers facial features but she still retained a feminine appearance, she was a on the bigger side but it looked more like muscle than anything. She was wearing a black and camo jacket with jeans and boots. It looked like a high school graduation picture. This was…indescribable, I freaked out and I shut the door and I sat on the floor in the hallway I took a minute to catch my breath.

"Are you alright?" a voice called from the stairwell

I looked over and it was Fletcher he walked closer with concern in his eyes he had on a t shirt and sweats on, he looked comfortable and if he aged he sure didn't show it. He helped me up and pulled me into a hug, I gladly accepted it.

"Where are we?" I asked

"We are at home, are you sure you are all right?" he looked at me and put his hand on my forehead I think checking for a fever.

"What do you mean home?" I asked

"Home, we live here and our daughters grew up here." He responded and checked for a fever again "you do feel a little warm, let's go downstairs" he spoke with worry

I followed him downstairs, this house was huge there was an open living room separated by the bar in the kitchen. There was another room it looked like a den. I sat down on the couch in the living room. I hear him fumbling around in the kitchen for something. I just took in my surroundings, there was a large 60" TV in the living room with surround sound and a large entertainment center below the TV. The walls were grey similar to the bedroom. The Kitchen was a soft yellow, the dining area was brown with wood flooring. There was a mud room between the kitchen and the dining room or at least I thought it was a mud room. The den was a dark red with a fireplace. Fletcher came back with Tylenol and a glass of water.

"Here take these" he handed me the pills and I took them. He covered me up with a blanket and sat next to me.

This felt really nice I just snuggled up next to him, I still felt off but better it was nice and really quiet I could feel him absent mindedly playing with my hair. I smiled this was weird but relaxing, I liked this a lot. When we get back to Hereford I will have to make him do this.

"Are you feeling nauseous, cold, light headed?" he asked

"No I'm not" replied quietly

"Ok let me know if you get those feelings" He smiled

I just nodded I brought my legs up on the couch and under the blanket. I heard a knock at the door. I looked to the door and then to Fletcher.

"You stay here I'll go see who that is" He smiled

I looked back and the door opened and Fletcher went in for a hug I saw two arms wrap around him.

"It's about time Six let you guys off" Fletcher spoke with joy

"Yeah he likes to keep us over worked" one female replied

"No kidding and he finally let Mac on the team." The other replied

They came back into the living room continuing their conversation.

"I'm surprised they didn't let Seamus's kid on the team I honestly though he would have been on the team earlier than this. What does he use in the field?" He asked

I could finally see who he was talking to, it was Valerie and Angela. They made it on to Rainbow? Six is a guy? Seamus has a kid? I was confused as to what was going on they finally came around into the living room.

"He uses same old Sledgehammer that his father used when you two were on the team" Angela spoke before looking at me.

They looked at the couch and at me, they both smiled and hugged me. They sat on either side of me.

"How are you mom?" Valerie asked

"Mom?" I asked and I looked at her

She giggled "yes you are my mom"

My heart pounded and I became really nervous, _"I'm a mom and this is my daughter? What?" I spoke to myself_

"Your mother isn't feeling well today, I don't know what it is yet" Fletcher spoke and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Oh, you're not growing old on us are you?" Angela smiled

I think she was joking so I responded like it was one. "No I'm not" I gave a smile to back up my statement

"Well that's good" She responded

I felt them both hug me again. I felt a need to get out of this situation. "I'll be right back"

"Ok" the girls responded in unison

I got up and I felt light headed and I started to sweat. I tried to take a step and I fell to the floor, it was hard to breathe.

"Mom?!" Valerie spoke in panic

"Babe?!" Fletcher spoke in the same tone

I could see him kneel down next to me, and I could hear Angela and Valerie kneel behind me. They rolled me on my back. My vision faded again.

 **July 19, 2018**

I started to wake up again my eyelids felt heavy, and I felt tired. I started to open my eyes but my eyelids shut themselves again. I forced my eyes open, my vision was blurry, and I could tell someone was sitting on the floor off to my right. I blinked a few times before my vision restored itself. It was Fletcher off to my side. He was sleeping or at least I think he was. I looked to my right and I had an IV. I was still topless, I could feel my face heat up. My shemagh was laying on the cot next to my pillow, I wiggled my toes and found my boots were removed. My body ached with pain, I decided to lay there for a few minutes.

 **POV end**

 **July 19, 2018**

 **1200 hours Itacua Echo**

The safe house was dead quiet, Meghan was on a cot and under an Afghan (a Knitted Blanket). Fletcher was sleeping on the floor next to Meghan's cot never left her side after he got done operating on her. Midas was exfilled out to El Paso to be operated on his injury was too bad to treat there in Bolivia. Holt went with him, Emma was fine it just hurt her to move a whole lot. Everyone was resting, Wrench quietly tapped away at the key board on his laptop. Bowman was looking at reports and files on the remaining operational heads. Mitchell was sleeping on the couch, Taina was keeping an eye out for any possible threats on the horizon. Aria was sleeping in one of the chairs, Emma was sitting at the table examining her drone. Nomad and Weaver were patrolling to make sure that no one was actively looking for them. Meghan looked over to Fletcher.

"Fletcher" Meghan called in a weak voice

Fletcher inhaled and stretched, he had bags under his eyes and his skin was a lighter tone than normal because he had to give blood to Meghan. "Who called?" he asked

"I did" Meghan smiled softly

A smile came across his face and a sense of relief washed over his body "Good to see you awake, did you sleep well?"

"Not really, I feel tired." Meghan yawned

Fletcher nodded and he pulled a green liquid out of his pack, he poured it into an empty mug. "Sorry about your shirt, and sorry we didn't have another one that was your size"

"It's fine, I don't know if I was ready for you to see me topless just yet" She smirked

He smiled and handed her the drink "drink this"

She took it and only took a sip before coughing in disgust she grimaced "what the hell is that stuff?"

Fletcher was trying to hold back his laughter "It's supposed to be a natural antioxidant that helps prevents infections, I know it's nasty but you need to drink all of it"

She grimaced again and looked around the room "Where are the Ghosts?" She asked

"Nomad and Weaver are out on patrol, Holt and Midas are in El Paso. Midas needed more than a field treatment" Bowman replied from the table.

Meghan nodded and she took another sip of the nastiest drink she had ever tasted, she felt her stomach where the bullet struck and she could feel stitching through the bandages. She took a closer look at Fletcher and she could see he was a little pale.

"Why are you pale?" she asked

"I had to give you blood, turns out we are the same blood type" Fletcher softly smiled

She nodded again, the room fell silent again. A few minutes passed and Cadmen had burst through the door. His jacket was tattered and so were his jeans, his bag had all kinds of shrubbery and branches caught in its straps. He was breathing heavily, he reached into the cooler they had in the safe house and pulled out a beer. He walked to the table, hooked the cap on the edge of the table and with a solid smack the cap came off and he took a long drink. He rudely kicked Mitchell's legs off the couch and he sat down. Everyone looked at him wondering where in the hell he had been.

"Wher-"

Cadmen cut Bowman off just by raising his left hand telling her to wait. "Let me Finish my beer first"

Everyone waited patiently as he chugged the rest of his beer. He let out a long sigh. He clutched his side where the Hunter struck his side yesterday. Just as Bowman was about to ask him where he had been Cadmen spoke "Do I have a story for all of you" he leaned back into the couch making himself comfortable.

 **A/N: Yeah so when i was waiting for Mr. Gravy to finish beta reading Ubisoft released that CGI trailer and turns out Six is now a guy, it was a happy coincidence i was happy to accept and laugh at. Until the big event the other director Six the one that was in before Harry will remain as Six. I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter!**


	22. Chapter 22: Memories

**A/N: Hello everyone, I was able to finish chapter 22 for you all. The Division recordings from the recent Ghost Recon patch are in this chapter and I wanted to say I do not own any of them or the characters involved in the recordings. I had to modify them a little so that D.C wasn't mentioned in them. this [...] represents a break in the transmission where D.C was mentioned. Just letting you all know. This chapter is a little slower than the other Bolivia chapters but this will add some more back story to some characters. Also there is a Rape Scene in this chapter I marked the beginning and the end of the scene so you can skip over it. I want to clarify that when I have the characters speak in a language other than English, I put down the pronunciation of the words and not the actual words just to put more life into the words. I haven't gone back to do this with older chapters but it is on my to do list. Please let me know if there are any issues with the translations. Please leave a review or PM me if you have questions, criticism, or issues I have missed in the chapter. Thank You and Enjoy!**

 _ **Chapter 22: Memories**_

 **July 19, 2018**

"What the hell happened to you?" Mitchell asked after being rudely awakened

"Fucking Hunter happened to me" He spoke with agitation

"What?" Bowman asked confused

"A Hunter, those fuckers were in New York they were the bane of the second wave. They would literally hunt down division agents and kill them, we never figured out where they were from, who they are, why they were killing agents, or even how they got access to SHD tech. they seemed to disappear after the quarantine was lifted. I guess this one escaped and got down here and picked up my SHD signal." He took off his ball cap and ruffled his hair

"Just explain what happened back there at the base." Mitchell pushed

"Alright…"

 _ **Flashback begins…**_

 **July 18, 2018**

 **1000 hours Montoyac**

Cadmen had been on the run for about an hour he covered roughly ten miles (16 kilometers) he was sweating and breathing heavily. He clutched his side where the hunter struck him with the tomahawk. He used the bill of his hat wipe away the sweat. He was looking around like a paranoid crack addict. He heard a crumple in the brush to his left he stopped moving and held his breath the best he could. There was another crunch behind him he turned around quickly he held his Vector at the ready. He heard something drop to the ground, it gave subtle metallic thud followed by a robotic tone. It was a seeker mine.

"FUCK ME" he shouted

He started running again the motor of the seeker mine was loud as it traveled across the forest floor. He could see its glowing red light out of the corner of his eye. He saw a low hanging branch. He cursed at himself, in one fluid motion he jumped up and swung himself to the top of the branch, he perched himself up on the branch and he shot the seeker mine with his Vector. He waited patiently and shut his SHD tech off, it was dangerous to do such a thing as it took a few minutes to power up all of the gear. It was a gamble he was willing to take he tried to quiet his breathing as much as possible. The Hunter came through in a cautious and quiet manner. It was methodical and unrelenting as it checked everything in the vicinity. The Hunter looked in the direction it came from turning its back to Cadmen. Cadmen looked to the beast of unholy creation with fear. He sat patiently hoping the Hunter would leave. The branch he was sitting on cracked he looked down to see the wood starting to splinter. He was praying that the branch wouldn't snap. His heart raced as the branch continued to crackle and sag. The Hunter was trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. Finally, branch gave one loud and distinct snap, Cadmen hit the ground hard. He let out a loud grunt, the Hunter looked at him and without missing a beat the beast jumped on the agent, tomahawk in hand. Cadmen was quick enough to catch the Hunter's wrist. The Hunter delivered a hard blow into Cadmen's side, he gasped for air and lost his grip on the Hunter's wrist. The Hunter went for another swing with the tomahawk only to have boot to the face. The Hunter was stunned by the blow, Cadmen scrambled to his feet and grabbed his Vector. He ran as hard as he could, he couldn't feel his legs mainly because of the adrenaline keeping him going. He was moving faster than Ash jacked up on Bandit's drugs. He dove through any brush in his path, the hunter was hot on his tail. He saw a rock face he could climb. Cadmen was an avid climber, he learned quite a few things in New York such as climbing on unknown surfaces. He corrected his path, He couldn't hear the Hunter behind him anymore. He quickly reached the rock face and he jumped as high as he could, he clawed at every rock he could reach. He climbed for his life he got to the half way point before the Hunter started shooting at him, He launched himself up a few feet. He got to a narrow ledge, he stood himself up on it and returned fire. Rounds zipped passed his head. Cadmen couldn't do a lot with an SMG from this range but neither could the hunter.

"Fuck it" Cadmen said

He turned and continued to climb, the Hunter wasn't about to let his prey escape. It continued to fire at Cadmen. Cadmen finally got to the top of the rock face, he ran deep into the lush forest of Bolivia. He traveled a few more miles before finding a cave. He quickly checked the area around the cave and the cave itself. He sat down on the cold rock floor. He was breathing heavily, he took a few seconds to pull himself together, he looked to his watch it was going on 1:30. He pulled out several bottles of water, he downed the first bottle within seconds he opened the second one and he took a few sips. He leaned back against the wall and looked out at the forest before him, he took a few minutes to catch his breath. He took another sip before grabbing a pack of assorted nuts and canned peaches. He used his knife to cut open the peaches. He pulled out a map and laid it out on the floor of the cave. He was figuring out where he was as he ate. He laid against the wall of the cave, he was a little chilly. He couldn't figure out why, he looked to his side, blood was seeping through his shirt and dripping on the floor.

"Damn it" he cussed

He took his jacket, Kevlar, and t shirt off. He reached into his bag and pulled out a few gauze pads, disinfectant, and super glue. He poured the disinfectant on the cut it burned like hell.

"FUUUCK" He shouted

He used his free hand to hold the wound shut while he used super glue to seal the wound. It took him a few minutes to close it off effectively. He put one gauze pad on the wound to stop any blood. He didn't give a shit if he had to cut the gauze off later just so long as the bleeding stopped. He put his shirt back on and finished eating. His legs and arms were sore.

"I can't fall asleep" He spoke to himself in an attempt to keep from falling asleep

He couldn't help it, the cave was nice and cool compared to the rest of the country. It was 90 degrees (Fahrenheit) outside of the cave. Just as his eyes were about to close he smacked himself hard to stay awake. He needed something to distract himself from falling asleep. He pulled his SHD tech out of his bag. He was examining his equipment very carefully. His support station was badly damaged, he shook his head in frustration. His turret was stuck in its base form as the napalm canisters fell off a few miles ago, the electrical contacts were broke, and the extended sensor was missing.

"Better than nothing I guess" he spoke in a condescending tone.

His concealment pulse kit looked to be intact, which was a good thing. His sticky bomb launcher was fried. He had a smoker seeker mine, his ballistic shield was pretty much useless. His mobile cover was intact and so were all of the mods to go with it.

"You've got to be kidding, all of those skill pieces and that's the one that works. Fucking hunter" he was not happy

He shook his head, he also turned his tech back on and started to adjust his kit. He could hear a massive gun fight in the distance. He figured the Hunter would at least go and observe the fight. He had his concealment kit and Seeker mine equipped. He hiked further and deeper into the forest. His legs were screaming at him to stop and take a break. He ignored the pain and continued his hike.

 **2230 hours**

Cadmen had been hiking for a good while. His last break was five hours ago. He found a little single room house he could bed down in for the night. He cautiously opened the door and not a soul was lurking in the shadowy night. He shut the door and locked it, he walked over to the window and closed the shutters and locked them as well. He took his pack off and set it on the floor next to the bed, he sat down on the bed. He put his Vector on the night stand next to him and his handgun under the pillow.

"ISAC let me know if anyone enters in a vicinity of 300 yards. (274 meters)" Cadmen spoke with a tired voice

"Affirmative Agent" ISAC replied

Cadmen laid back on the bed, he could feel his muscles twitch and giving him the feeling that he was walking. He reached for his wallet and pulled out a picture of his last family picture with his wife and son. He did this every night it was a reminder of what he had lost and why he continues his fight. He missed his family. He looked at the picture and he was taken back to that night.

 _ **Flashback begins…**_ _(Refer to Chapter 19 for the beginning of the scene)_

 **December 3, 2014**

 **2:00am Chelsea borough New York City**

Cadmen looked to the door with anticipation, his heart was pumping. He stopped packing his son's bag as he was too focused on the door. There were loud bangs and footsteps from the floor below, the sounds only seemed to get louder and louder. He had just realized the deadbolt and the chain weren't locked on the door. He darted for the door only for it to be kicked in on him. The door flew open and hit his face really hard. He was staggered by the blow, he stumbled back to the kitchen counter in his apartment. Guys with Santa Blanca tattoos all over their faces and in hunter orange jump suits, they walked in with shotguns and M4s from Riker's island. Maria (Cadmen's wife) stepped into the kitchen and was shocked by the scene. She tried to get back into the bedroom and get Cadmen's standard issue M9.

"Come here niña" (girl in Spanish) an inmate spoke

The inmate grabbed Maria's arm and shoved her on the couch in the living area. Cadmen stood up from the kitchen counter only to have a shotgun barrel at the back of his head.

"Don't gringo" The other inmate chuckled

Benjamin (Cadmen's son) stumbled out of his room wiping his eyes.

"What's going on?" he asked in his innocent voice

One inmate grabbed the child and threw him next to his mom on the couch. Maria clung to her child she looked at the leader with fear. The leader was eyeing up Maria, he found her quite attractive.

"You know I haven't had any pussy since I have been out of the joint, and I would love to feel the touch of woman." He chuckled

"You fucking touch her I will tear your goddamn head off" Cadmen spoke

The leader looked to Cadmen and accepted the challenge "I'd like to see you try gringo" He chuckled

The leader's face turned serious and he turned around and grabbed Maria. Who screamed at the top of her lungs.

"MOMMY!" Benjamin shouted as he tried to get up only to be forced back on to the couch. He couldn't help but cry

"NOOOOO, LET GO OF ME YOU BASTARD" She shouted in panic

She flailed and was smacking his hand trying to get free. He was much stronger than her and he dragged her into the bed room. Cadmen was powerless, he closed his eyes as if he would wake up from this terrible nightmare. His wife's screams echoed through the aprtment.

 *******RAPE SCENE**********RAPE SCENE****************RAPE SCENE***********

The leader of the inmates, really didn't care about her screams as he was a serial rapist who was given fifty years in prison. He put his hand on her mouth.

"Shhhh, I'm going to give you what your husband hasn't given you in years" He smiled

She had tears pouring out of her eyes and she started sobbing. He wiped her tears away and set his rifle next to the dresser as he forced her on the bed. He didn't want to waste any time and he took his knife and drug the tip of the blade up her body with an evil smile. With a swift stroke he cut her shirt off. Leaving her upper body in just a bra.

"My you have wonderful tits" He spoke calmly

She continued to cry as he cut her bra off, He grabbed her tits and gave them a good squeeze. He could feel himself growing hard in his pants. Pulled his penis out of his pants and grabbed her by her hair and forced her to suck it.

"You try and bite I kill your family" he warned

He forced her to deep throat him, she gagged on his dick. Tears were dripping off her face from gagging and crying. He only stopped for a few seconds to give her air before going back at it. He loved this. After a few minutes he released in her mouth, she spit it all out. He looked at her upset.

"Ungrateful bitch" He smacked her face hard

She yelped and cried more, he grabbed his knife again and cut her pants off, the only clothing she had on was her panties. He smacked her ass, making her yelp again. She was powerless and she couldn't stop crying.

"Stop crying you fucking whore" He spoke with anger

He shoved her face down into the bed before ripping her panties off. He wasted no time sticking it in her vagina. He started to thrust into her as hard as possible. She held her mouth shut as he had his way with her. Her moans were pulling at the corners of her mouth to escape. She fought as hard as she could to keep them suppressed. However it wasn't enough as a loud moan escaped.

"It's not as bad *he moans* as you think"

He put more power behind his thrusts making her moan louder. She had a pool of tears on the bed. He carried on without a care in the world. He started to moan and grunt louder as his thrusts became less coordinated. With a loud grunt he dumped his seed inside her. He pulled out of her and put his cock back in his pants. She collapsed on the bed crying her eyes out.

**** **END OF RAPE SCENE****END OF RAPE SCENE******END OF RAPE SCENE****

The leader walked out of the room, he had a satisfied smile on his face. He walked over to Cadmen with his smile growing smug.

"She loved every minute of it" he kept that evil and smug smile on his face

Cadmen's soul was burning with anger, his fist clenched and twitched waiting to be thrown, his soul burned with such intensity that the entire apartment complex would have burnt down. His heart pumped adrenaline into his veins, his blood began to boil. His breathing picked up. His wife, was also pissed and she wasn't thinking straight. She grabbed Cadmen's M9 off the dresser and she stepped into the living area with the gun aimed at the leader's head. One of the other inmates saw her as did Cadmen.

"MARIA NO!" He shouted

The inmate put a round through Maria's head, Cadmen's heart dropped to the floor he lost the love of his life within a flash. Benjamin got free of the inmate's grasp and ran over to his mom's corpse

"MOMMY!" He screamed with tears in his eyes.

The leader shot the boy in the back the round penetrated the boy's small and innocent heart. Cadmen could only watch as his son dropped dead on his wife's body. He had tears of sadness and anger in his eyes. His heart pounded, the beat radiated through his body. The leader of the inmates laughed at Cadmen. His mind shifted to a more primal state of fight or flight. His rage blinded him, he grabbed the inmate's shotgun and pulled him closer, Cadmen turned around to face the inmate. As if he were possessed by a demon, Cadmen bit down on the inmate's throat, with a solid tug he tore the inmate's throat out. Blood shot all over the walls and counters, painting the apartment red. It covered Cadmen's face, the inmates were dazed and scared as they watched a man possessed maul their friend. Cadmen took the shotgun off the floor and fired one round through the chest of another inmate, he chambered a fresh round and sent another shell of buckshot through a second inmate. Cadmen looked at the leader and he pounced and brought the man to the floor and delivered multiple blows to the inmate's face.

"YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED AWAY" Cadmen screamed at the leader

Cadmen grabbed this man by the collar of his jump suit and he dragged him to the door. Cadmen put his foot on the man's back and slid him a few inches closer until his head was perfectly in line with the door. With that Cadmen slammed the door on the man's neck, repeatedly. The inmate screamed in pain. Cadmen's rage made him deaf and gave him extra strength, he continued to slam the door on the neck of this poor individual until his head popped off into the hallway. Blood coated the floor, his rage subsided into sadness. Tears started to flow as he walked over to his loved ones. He fell to his knees next to his wife and son and he started to cry. He held their bodies in his arms. He didn't bother moving or cleaning the blood off his face.

 **December 8, 2014**

The first wave agents had been activated recently, Cadmen's team hadn't heard from him and they were concerned, they were also told by Keener to find him.

"CEAR!" A feminine voice shouted down the hall

"What was his apartment number?" A masculine voice asked

"218, should be just up the hall" The women replied

"Hopefully he's alive" Another female commented

The agents pushed up the hall with caution, they scanned ever centimeter of the hallway. They came to a doorway, there was blood all over the floor and a severed head in the hall all by its lonesome.

"Fuck, that his apartment" the female leader, Kelly, whispered to the rest of the team "Be ready for anything" She continued in a whisper

The team stacked up on the door, they kept eye contact with each other. Kelly counted down from three and she kicked the door in. There was no response, the apartment was covered in blood. The walls and pictures were coated in red.

"Cadmen?" She called

Kelly was quiet she could hear sobbing, she held up her fist telling her team to stay back. She slowly walked into the master bedroom. Cadmen was still clutching his wife and son's bodies, he was still crying and running his hands through his wife's once beautiful chestnut brown hair.

"Cadmen?" Kelly asked in a quiet and solemn voice

"They fucking killed them without a second thought" Cadmen whimpered

Kelly kneeled down with her MP5 ST off to the side, she put her hand on Cadmen's back. "Cadmen they're gone you can't bring them back" Kelly looked at him with sorrowful eyes

"I just want to fucking die" He sobbed

She pitied him and she wanted him to comfort him, but they had a job to do.

"We have been activated and we need to go" She looked at him

"I can't fucking bury them, they deserve better than being wrapped in a plastic bag and thrown out in the street"

"Cadmen they're already in heaven and these were just vessels for their souls. Maria would want you to fight for everyone in this city so they don't experience the same pain you have" Kelly kept her gaze on the poor broken man

He looked to the ceiling as if asking god why this happened, he looked back down. Kelly slowly pulled him away from the tomb. She looked at him and gave him a hug.

"We need to get to the Post Office" Kelly whispered

He gave a soft nod, Kelly backed up. He slowly got up, he looked at his bedroom one last time. Every memory he had of that apartment with his wife and son came flying back. He could remember Benjamin jumping on their bed last Christmas at five in the morning to wake them up so he open his presents. Tears continued to flow down his face. The tears left clear and clean trail through the dried blood on his face. He didn't want to leave.

"Rockwell we need to move." Kelly softly spoke

Cadmen gave a soft nod again he took the blanket off his bed and covered his loved ones with it, before he closed the door. Kelly walked back out into the living area. Kelly pushed her team out into the hallway and closed the apartment door.

"He lost his wife and son" Kelly whispered

"Fuck" Scarecrow replied (the rouge agent from the police academy mission)

"Is he good to go out in the field?" Clarke asked (the Rouge dispatcher)

"I don't know but we need to keep a close eye on him if he does anything to try and get himself killed stop him" Kelly commanded

The other agents nodded

"Who attacked them?" Scarecrow asked

"ISAC says Riker's inmates that were a part of the Santa Blanca Cartel" Kelly responded

"After we get to the post office we, should tell him if ISAC hasn't told him already. It will give him a good reason to fight." Clarke commented

Cadmen cleaned the blood off his face and had ISAC scan all of his Family pictures and upload them to a personal file so he could have them later. He grabbed his kit and looked at his home one last time before leaving. He looked over his apartment one last time, he wiped his eyes and took a breath before he walked out and locked the door. The team traveled to the post office for quick briefing before being let off the chain. Keener had heard about what happened, he and Cadmen had a long talk to make sure he was good for field operation. Cadmen was short tempered and solemn during his time in New York and he was suicidal for a long time, even while having a target for his anger. His values changed as time went on.

 _ **Flashback ends…**_

He closed eyes and gave his wife and son a kiss before falling asleep. He managed to capture 5 hours of sleep.

"Hostiles detected, 300 yards to the north" ISAC chimed

Cadmen was awakened by his A.I companion. Cadmen went to get up out of the bed only to fall on the floor. His legs were numb, he had far exceeded his limit. He used his arms to crawl, he crawled over to the table next to the window. He pulled himself into the chair that was at the table. He grabbed his turret and Vector. He peered through the shutters he reached into his bag and pulled out a slightly damaged canister of the first aid nanobots and pulled out the needle that sat on the bottom and injected it into his legs.

"ISAC, active nanities in sections 3 and 4" Cadmen commanded

"Activating nanites" his robotic voice pierced through the house

"SHIT" He clenched his jaw

He smacked the table as bots essentially rebirthed his leg muscles, he could feel his legs again and move them. He loved and hated the first aid boosters, they were great if you were in a pinch, however they weren't so good in the long run. He only had a few hours before his legs gave out again. He grabbed his bag and threw it on his back and he crept out of the house and sent out a pulse, there were five tangos in the vicinity. He made his way to their position. The sun was making its debut for the day. He climbed up a tree that was in the hostile's path. He watched down at his prey, it was the Masks. It was a small team of five, he equipped a suppressor to his Vector.

"ISAC activate scrambler" He whispered to his companion

"Activating scrambler" ISAC replied

Cadmen had only used this once or twice mainly because it was fairly obnoxious to use. The AI hacked into the radio system of the Masks and other surrounding radio systems. ISAC cranked the volume up on the radios of the masked men. Cadmen was rather annoyed by the static that was cutting through the air.

"TURN THAT SHIT OFF" a Mask yelled trying to shut his radio off

"I CAN'T, FUCKIN' RADIO IS BUSTED" another Mask responded

Cadmen waited, his eyes locked on to his prey, the Masks had their guns drawn scanning every inch of the area around them. They were nervous, they heard about some Hunter lurking around in the area and that they shouldn't fuck with it at all. Cadmen dropped down behind the men and unloaded an entire magazine in their direction, he killed them all. He put a fresh mag in and the hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up. The Hunter was near, ISAC shut off the scrambler and the grounds fell silent, the only sound to be heard was the trees rustling wind. ISAC sent out a pulse, not soul was in the vicinity. He listened very closely, the crunch of brush filled his ears, his heart raced. The Hunter finally made his appearance, it walked calmly out and onto the trail. Cadmen and this mysterious figure looked each other in the eyes. It was a classic standoff, both were unwavering and tension filled the air.

"This ends today, I'm tired of runnin'" Cadmen spoke

The Hunter accepted the challenge and took his PP-19 off his back and readied it, the Hunter wasn't about to make the first move. Cadmen moved like greased lightning, He snapped his Seeker mine off his back and dropped it. The automated machine released a thick cloud of smoke, the Hunter charged into the smoke, just as he had thought. ISAC quickly shifted his contacts to a thermal view, the Hunter's image was slightly distorted to the IR feed. He fired his Vector at the image, only to have it run out the other side of the smoke. The Hunter dropped its own seeker mine. Cadmen saw it come through the smoke on the IR feed, he shot it before it got in detonation range. He darted into the brush, and threw his turret on a tree branch, it auto locked onto the Hunter and started to fire at the beast. The Hunter retaliated and hacked the turret, before it could lock on to the agent, the agent destroyed it. Cadmen had the Hunter on the ropes, He ran to the other side of the trail where the stalker was. He sent out another pulse this time the Hunter appeared with a red outline, He fired a burst at the beast. The Hunter narrowly avoid the shots and fired back at the agent. Cadmen took cover behind a tree and grabbed a thick metal bar and tossed it out into the open area. The mobile cover activated and set itself up, He didn't run behind it. Instead he ran around the perimeter of the gun fight, just as he calculated the Hunter threw a frag behind the mobile cover. A smug smile worked its way on Cadmen's face. He got behind the Hunter and fired a controlled burst, three shots hit their mark. The Hunter bellowed in pain, this beast limped its way to cover. It was still in the fight. The Hunter prepped a first aid canister, Cadmen hurled an EMP grenade. The grenade detonated before the Hunter could react. The Hunter panicked as its gear was shut down, Cadmen jumped in front of the Hunter with a smug smile. The Hunter grabbed its trusty tomahawk and swung at the agent. Who avoided the blow, he delivered a blow to the Hunter's face and another to the ribs. The Hunter growled and threw a left hook, Cadmen caught the blow in his ribs. He coughed, staggered, and dropped his Vector, the beast took the initiative and swung the hawk again. Cadmen was hit in his right leg.

"FUCK" he screamed

Cadmen fell to the ground, the beast pounced on the agent. The Hunter pulled the tomahawk back ready to deliver the killing blow, Cadmen drew his handgun at the speed of light and let a volley of shots loose on the beast's chest. The Hunter gripped its chest and slowly crumpled on the ground. The agent laid on the forest floor panting. A few minutes passed, Cadmen picked himself up off the ground. He limped over to the Hunter's corpse and grabbed the support station off the bag of the unholy creation. He activated the box so he could repair his wounds, It sealed the wounds on his leg and on his side. He still only had a few hours before the nanobots in his legs shut off. He scavenged the corpse for any resources he could, mainly ammo and grenades. He was meticulous in his search, it might have been ten minutes before he finished. He was about to walk away, he stopped and turned to corpse and pulled the belt of Division watches off the Hunter's chest. Cadmen spit on the corpse of the beast, before finally walking away.

 _ **Flashback ends…**_

 **July 19, 2018**

 **Itacua Echo**

Cadmen let out a sigh as he was finished his story and took another sip of his beer. He didn't tell them about his wife and kid for obvious reasons.

"Well at least your back in one piece" Bowman commented

Cadmen nodded "What happened after I disappeared?"

"Kings killed El Muro, we killed Kings, We ran into Aaron Keener, who shot Emma and Meghan, and lastly Midas was exfilled to El Paso to have surgery on his back. Holt went with him." Mitchell spoke with mild frustration

Cadmen hung his head "Sorry I wasn't there to stop him"

"It alright, we are still here and alive, and we are still in fight" Fletcher chirped

"Wrench I think I know find to that Genome" he pulled the belt of Division watches out of his bag "If we run a tracking algorithm for the data print of the genome through a few of these watches we can delete it."

"It will take me some time to get inside of the firewall, I need to call a friend. She is the best in the business. I know she can write a complex algorithm like with ease." Wrench replied

"What's this person's name?" Bowman asked

"Grace Nam" Wrench replied coolly

He captured the attention of all the Rainbow ops, they all looked at him in slight awe and in confusion even Taina had her attention focused on the hackerman. Wrench looked the operators with a slight amount of fear. Bowman looked at the group feeling the tension.

"How do you know her?" Twitch asked in an almost threatening tone

"There is a party out in the desert for hackers in the US and we met there. We kept in contact and worked on a few home projects together" Wrench replied meekly

"Did you do anything that was illegal?" Twitch asked again

"No, the only time she really needed my help was a year or two ago. She asked me to write a fairly simple algorithm that could take over almost any device with in a 200 yard radius." Wrench replied "She was too busy to write the code or at least that's what she said" Wrench looked at the ops

"Who is this woman?" Bowman asked

"She is a member of our team, she is clean and she will help us" Meghan spoke from the cot

"Ok, can you reach her?" Bowman asked

"Yeah get us a phone" Meghan spoke again

Bowman got a phone and had Meghan put in Grace's phone number. Told the device to call her. It was in the wee morning hours of the day in Hereford. Grace was sleeping somewhat peacefully when her phone went off. She groaned and put on her glasses even though they were fake.

"Hello?" She asked with a tired voice

"Hey Grace it's Meghan"

"What do you need Meg it's not trying to sleep or anything" Grace responded annoyed

"Look we have situation that requires your expertise, we have a hacker by the name of Wrench-"

"Put him on" Grace cut the SEAL off

Meghan passed the phone off to Fletcher who gave it to Wrench. Cadmen moved over to the table next to Wrench.

"Grace it's Wrench, I need your help with a tracking algorithm. This piece of tech I have never seen before and I don't even know where to start." Wrench commented

Grace got out of her bed with her blanket wrapped around her body, she took a seat at her computer and turned it on, her eyes were tired as much as she was. Cadmen uploaded a few pieces of the SHD code that was related to tracking an agent.

"I'm sending you a chunk of the code, we are looking for data trail of the Green Poison virus and son dude by the name of Aaron Keener." Wrench continued and sent the schematic

Grace received the file and she opened it. Her interest was piqued almost immediately, she had never seen a code so complex before.

"This…this is so complex where did you pull this from?" Grace asked

"It's classified info and if I tell you the CIA handler here will probably throw me in a blacksite. I need help with this, this guy that they are chasing shot three of your friends and one of the other guys." Wrench looked around the room with slight fear as everyone was watching him.

"Put me on with the handler" Grace replied

Wrench handed the phone to Bowman "This is Bowman"

"Look this code is top of the line I need you to allow him to contact Dedsec, between all of us and some of my friends we can probably have an algorithm in maybe twelve hours. We need to work together in order to get this right." Grace spoke in a calm and tired demeanor

Bowman bit her lip in rage, she didn't like the idea of bringing even more people in on this project. They were short on resources and they did need the help.

"Fine but if they speak word or keep any of the info they find I will personally make sure they go to prison for treason and they will never see the light of day again." Bowman threatened

"Alright" Grace replied

Bowman handed the phone back to Wrench, Grace explained everything that needed to happen in order for them to get this algorithm worked out. Luckily grace had connections to people at NASA with a super computer. Grace immediately got to work as did Wrench after he notified Dedsec. Cadmen clutched his side again and let out a small grunt. Fletcher noticed Cadmen's pain.

"You alright?" Fletcher asked

Cadmen felt his side again there was a lump where the cut was "I think there is a chunk of metal in my side"

"Come here, I'll take care of it" Fletcher wiggled his index and middle finger telling Cadmen to come

Cadmen followed the operator, Mitchell followed the two. Everyone went about their business. The trio went into a back room, Mitchell had grabbed Fletcher's light and tools. Cadmen sat down on a wooden chair and took his shirt off. Fletcher sterilized his hands and tools before sitting down. He ran his thumb across the lump on the agent's side.

"Well you definitely have something in there, Mitchell, knife" Fletcher spoke

Mitchell turned on the light, and Fletcher reopened the wound. Cadmen grimaced and grunted. There was some oddly colored tissue and some puss in the wound. The chunk of metal fell to the floor. It was a piece of the Hunters tomahawk that broke off.

"Fuck, looks like you have infection or a discharge at the least" Fletcher commented

Cadmen looked at the wound "Fuck"

"Mitch, I need sponges, gauze, and antiseptic"

"Got it" Mitchell left the room to fetch the items.

"I need you to tell me about your experience with Aaron Keener" Cadmen looked to the operator

Fletcher chuckled "I can't tell you about that pal"

"Well you're gonna have to, we need that info. Keener has been tolerated for way to long and he needs to be stopped." Cadmen replied

"I'm sorry I can't tell you, not even the person with the highest security clearance in the world has access to that file, Me, Mitchell and a few more know what happened. Me and Mitch have sworn to secrecy and to not tell anyone about the op" Fletcher calmly replied

"Look we agents have been chasing him for a long time, his trail went cold after the walls came down and we never saw him again. You have the information that could light up trail again for us to take him out so please tell me." Cadmen asked

Fletcher took a minute to consider, he worked his jaw and tapped his fingers against the table next to him, as he thought.

"Are you going to tell me?" Cadmen asked

"After Mitchell gets back in here then we'll talk, you have to promise me that this stays between us three. The government will deny that it was their mission and we would be looking at a life in prison and well, possibly start world war 3" Fletcher had a calming and serious expression on his face

"I promise you that it will stay between us" Cadmen assured

Mitchell came back in the room and shut the door behind him and laid the items Fletcher asked for on the table next to him. Fletcher used the sponges to clean out the infection. He sighed as he started on the wound…

 _ **Flashback begins…**_

 **June 16, 2016**

 **2000 hours Moscow, Russia**

Fletcher and Mitchell had spent the last few months in Russia taking out "Rogue operators" that were really division agents. Every law enoforcement agency in the country was at a higher alert status than normal. There were more patrols in every city and district, Moscow even had a curfew instated no one was allowed to be out at midnight unless it was for work. The pair knew the odds were stacked against them but that didn't bother them. it took a couple of days to sniff out Mr. Keener. He was brokering a deal for safety in Russia and passing info off to the Russians. He also threatened to release the Green poison virus loose on the country and kill the Virologist Vitaly Tchernenko. Who was one of the few that had exceptional insight on the virus. Keener was meeting his contact in an unfinished apartment building. He was waiting patiently for his contact. Fletcher and Mitchell were set up in a steeple that was undergoing renovations. They were only a few blocks away from the Red Square. Fletcher was using a Russian Dragunov SVU (you may know it as the OTS-3). He had a Russian PSO scope on the rifle, he had a PBS-1 suppressor to complete the Russian look. He was prone on the floor for the most stable shot possible. Mitchell had an AS VAL sitting next to him. He was sitting cross legged, next to Fletcher with the tablet in his lap and his spotter scope set up in front of him. They both were dressed casually they looked as if they were Russian. Mitchell had a tablet out with a black earpiece listening to the chatter in the room, they had planted a bug earlier in the day. Fletcher was closely examining Keener's room. Keener was out of sight so the two couldn't make the kill just yet.

"What's going on in there Mitch?" Fletcher asked

"Nothing he's just waiting" Mitchell replied with a sigh

Fletcher nodded without taking his eyes off the scope. The pair fell silent again as they both waited for Keener to step into their sights. Mitchell was getting bored, he cracked his knuckles to break the absence of sound. Fletcher looked back at Mitchell.

"Chill" Fletcher spoke

Mitchell just looked back at the tablet without a word. Fletcher shook his head and looked back down his scope. The pair's patience was about to pay off, Keener's contact pulled around front in a limo.

"His contact just arrived, start the transmission back to Home Tree" Fletcher commanded

"Home Tree this is Splinter we are sending you a live feed from the target's room" Mitchell called into the tablet as he set up the link

"We are receiving" Home Tree replied

The contact made his way up to Keener's floor. There was a formal greeting and they sat down at a table. They started to talk about Keener's safe passage into the country. Fletcher readied his rifle, the two were watching and listening carefully. It was a long meeting it lasted two hours.

"Before I leave there is something I have to take care of first" Keener had a smug smile on his face

"What are taking care of?" his contact asked

"A couple of Americans who want me dead." Keener smirked

"There are only tourist from America here." His contact assured

Keener chuckled "That's where you are wrong, there are two soldiers here to kill me and probably you as well."

His contact looked at him with a confused look. Keener knew the room was bugged and he hacked it the instant he walked into the room three hours ago. The listening device was a two street, Keener could hear every word Mitchell and Fletcher were saying. Keener pulled out a detonator and walked over to the window. He looked at Fletcher and Mitchell, he waved at the pair. He chuckled.

"Fuck he's looking right at us" Mitchell commented

"No shit captain obvious" Fletcher replied

"You two are amateurs" Keener spoke into the transmitter

Their eyes grew to the size of fifty cent pieces, Fletcher's breath hitched. He pulled the trigger hoping to neutralize Keener, but the shot was off. Keener gave the detonator a hard squeeze. The explosives in the steeple gave a red glow before detonating. Mitchell being naturally quick grabbed Fletcher by his shirt and pulled him out of the steeple as it exploded and fragmented. The two were free falling, Mitchell smashed through scaffolding, it knocked the wind out the man. He continued to fall through the scaffolding. Fletcher essentially bounced off another set of scaffolding he shouted in pain. Rubble of the building followed the two down the three story fall. They broke and bounced off of a lot of the scaffolding. Both gasped for air as they wallowed on the ground in pain as the rubble came down around them. Fletcher was buried in the rubble as was Mitchell. The sound of the police echoed through the city, the two needed to get out of there. The tablet that Mitchell was using was smashed to bits not a single piece was useable. Fletcher was the first to attempt to move.

"Fuck" he groaned and looked to his left "Mitch get up" Fletcher squeezed out.

He freed his right arm and started clearing the rubble off of himself. Mitchell groaned, his back was badly bruised and hurt. Thanks to Mitchell's small size and landing right next to the building. He was able to get out from the small amount of rubble with relative ease. He sucked in as much air as he could. He stumbled over to his brother, the sirens got louder and louder. Mitchell was trying to free Fletcher as fast as he could but his back hurt badly.

"Fuck" Mitchell gasped for air as he threw rubble off Fletcher

Fletcher was able to get out from under the rubble but by the time he was free the police were already there. They were arrested and sent to a precinct for interrogation. The two sat in the back of the armored truck looking at each other. They knew they were most likely going to be executed or spend a life in the mining camps. Both shifted their gaze to their feet in failure. Fletcher felt terrible because he got Mitchell stuck in a Russian prison instead of home living a wonderful life. Mitchell on the other hand was formulating an escape plan. He moved his tongue over to the outside of his molars he felt the small metal wire he normally carries for situations like this. They arrived at the prison, Fletcher was thrown into an interrogation room. Mitchell on the other hand was put in a cell. They were allowed to keep their clothes because they still had to go on trial. Mitchell sat in his cell he was mapping a way out of this god forsaken building. He was also examining the lock on his cell door. It was a rather simple lock similar to the ones in the US. There was a guard outside the cell that looked rather bored and was about to fall asleep. Mitchell walked up to the bars and set his arms on the bars.

"U tebya yest' dym" (you got a smoke in Russian) Mitchell asked

The guard looked at Mitchell and debated whether or not to fulfill his wish. The guard nodded and walked over to the cell and handed Mitchell a smoke and lit it for him.

"Spasibo" (Thank you in Russian) Mitchell thanked the guard

He took a long drag off the smoke. The guard walked back to his desk, he was too occupied by the monitors in front of him to be focused on anything else. Mitchell chuckled softly as he had seamlessly stole the keys to the cell. Mitchell used the key to open the door. The guard was completely oblivious to what was going on. Mitchell slipped out of cell with ease, his steps were quiet. He slinked around the prison as quiet as a mouse. He snuck up behind the guard that gave him the smoke and effortlessly he took the guard's Makarov and pistol whipped him. The guard crashed down on the desk. The other prisoners were asking to be set free. He ignored the calls he continued his search. He used his prior knowledge of precincts from the US to guide himself in this building. He made his way closer to the holding cells and drunk tank. Luckily the cell blocks were dim lit and he could hide from the other guards in the building. He got past holding and found the interrogation rooms. He found the only one in use for the night. Mitchell came to the observation area, he peered through the glass on the door there were two guards silently watching the interrogation. Mitchell knocked on the door with the pistol.

"Ty mozhesh' otkryt' dver'" (You can open the door) A guard called back

Mitchell continued to knock on the door. The guard sighed and walked over to the door he opened the door just enough for his head to peek through. He was greeted with a heavy fist to the face and Mitchell door slammed on his head. The guard fell to the floor the other guard turned around, Mitchell already had his gun trained on the guards head. Mitchell brought a finger to his lips telling the guard to be quiet. The guard watched Mitchell walk closer.

"Ne delay glupostey" (Don't do anything stupid) Mitchell spoke

"Chego ty khochesh'" (What do you want) the guard asked

"Nichego takogo" (Nothing) Mitchell replied

Mitchell struck the guard's face rendering him unconscious. Mitchell walked over to the door into the actual interrogation room. There was a manual lock on the door that was used in case of a power outage. He went back and checked the guard's belts and none of them had a set of keys on them. Mitchell smirked as he pulled the wire out of his mouth and knelt down by the door and started working on the lock. He needed another piece of metal to trigger the second tumbler, he took the firing pin out of the Makarov and put it in the lower half of the lock. He turned the lock slowly, all of the tumblers triggered. He slowly pushed the door open and he reassembled the handgun. The two officers in the room looked at the door they didn't see anyone come in the room. One came over to the door, he thought it was another officer pulling a prank. He was severely wrong Mitchell pounced on the unsuspecting guard and took him to the ground. He placed his Makarov under the guard's chin. The other guard in the room drew his own pistol and aimed it at Mitchell.

"Opusti pistolet" (put down your gun) Mitchell commanded

"Net, otpusti yego, i tebe ne prichinyat vreda" (No, let him go and no harm will come to you) the guard replied

The two entered a stare down, both were seeing who would break first. Mitchell's patience didn't have the same durability as before. He started choking the guard he had pinned on the ground trying to get the other guard to break. The guard held it together. Mitchell wasn't about to wait for the guard below him to pass out, in one fluid motion he flipped the pistol around in his hand and struck the guard in the face hard enough to force an unconscious state. He threw the gun at the other guard in the room. The guard shielded his face, Mitchell charged and threw the guard into the wall and start throwing blows into his opponent's gut. The officer blocked two or three of the blows only for the American to slam him down on the table in the room. Fletcher had enough room on his chain to wrap it around the guard's neck. Mitchell continued delivering blows into the man's gut. It was only a few minutes before the guard finally crashed out. Mitchell caught his breath and rubbed his lower back, pain was setting in. He stretched his back and grabbed the keys and took Fletcher's cuffs off.

"Just like resistance training" Mitchell chuckled softly as he took a breath before standing all the way up

Fletcher smirked they took the detectives badges and clipped them on their belts. They walked out of the interrogation area as if nothing had happened. The night shift officer's precinct lobby weren't pay attention to who was walking in or out of the building. Just as long as they had a badge they were free to leave or go as they pleased. Fletcher and Mitchell walked out into the parking lot and they got into one of the cruisers which was a Lada Vesta. They drove off casually as if they were going on patrol. Fletcher took one of the radios and tuned it to their handler's frequency.

"Home Tree this Splinter" Fletcher called in

"Splinter where in the hell have you been?" Their handler asked

"The target dropped a steeple on us and we were arrested, we just escaped. We need to get out of the country before the officers wake up and issue a search for us. Do you have transport or a way out of the country?" Fletcher asked

There was an audible sigh from their handler "I have one contact she is one hell of a pilot, there is an airstrip outside of the city you will be looking for an Antonov An-12 it's a four prop transport plane. Her name is Sofiya Savina, your designation is phoenix and you should get icepick in return. I will have her take you to a base in the sandbox, it's classified so you two should fit right in, and the base commander is General Boyer he'll take you in."

"Roger that Home Tree. Splinter out." Fletcher put the radio away

"I really don't want to go back to the sandbox" Mitchell commented as he drove.

"Neither do I but we need an escape and this is it. We shouldn't be at the base real long unless we end up staying there for a tour or two." Fletcher replied

 _ **Flashback ends…**_

Fletcher finished the last bit of stitching on Cadmen's side. Cadmen put his shirt back on.

"So he has safe passage into Russia and he still has Vitaly hostage as well" Cadmen commented

"Yeah, that's all we know. Our Intel could also be off as it is two years old, so don't assume to much from it. We never knew that he was a rouge agent of yours or the fact that the rest of them might have been agents. Sorry we don't have more" Mitchell replied

"It's better than nothing and now we have information to go off of" Cadmen smirked

"Remember this stays between us not a word to anyone else" Fletcher spoke in a threatening tone

"I understand" Cadmen replied

Fletcher nodded as he Mitchell left out into the main area and Fletcher went back to Meghan's side to take care of any needs she may have. He gave her on of his shirts to wear for the time being, it was one of the shirts that went with his fatigues, it was solid black and the sleeves were a tiny bit too long for Meghan so she rolled the sleeves up to her bicep. Mitchell was just waiting for orders and Cadmen was on the line with Faye telling her about the new information he had. He didn't say Fletcher or Mitchell's names.

 **15000 hours San Mateo Province Bolivia**

Nomad and Weaver had taken a detour on their patrol. A rebel captain told them about odd behavior at an abandon Unidad base, so they decided to check it out. Nomad was watching the area with a drone. It was the White Masks in the base, they were packing up their gear.

"Boss wants us packed up and ready to go in the next 24 hours, move faster grunts." The leader shouted

The other terrorists picked up their pace. They were packing up guns, ammo, armor, and Santa Blanca assets. They were also loading up a large amount of 125mm shells into their trucks.

"Why are they leaving?" Weaver asked confused

"And why do they need all of that ordinance?" Nomad replied

"I say we wait until they leave the base and see if we can find anything that they may have left behind." Weaver suggested

"We'll do that"

The two sat outside of the base quietly waiting for the Masks to leave the base. It was a good twenty minutes before they left. Nomad and Weaver infiltrated the base, it was absolutely barren, not even a piece of paper was in sight. Nomad used hand signals to tell Weaver to split off. Nomad went to check the commander's office and Weaver checked the garages. Nomad made it up to the commander's office, and there was a piece of a map left behind. It was a map of sewers and other underground passage ways in a city. Nomad folded the paper and put it in his bag. Weaver found an olive green military supply box, there was an ominous orange phoenix on the side of the box. Inside there were a few PDAs stashed inside. He grabbed all of them and put them in his bag, Weaver stepped out of the garage and continued to look around the base. The pair spent thirty minutes scouring the base for anything that could be useful for them. The map and the PDA's were the only useful things that were of value within the base. They made their way back to the safe house.

 **1600 hours Itacua Echo**

Nomad and Weaver walked in the door, they were greeted by almost everyone. Meghan was sitting up for the first time in 24 hours. She was still holding her wound because it was sore and pain was radiating from it. Of course Fletcher was at her side, Emma was also on the couch she was sleeping. Aria was cleaning her Mx4, Taina was sharpening her blade. Mitchell was taking inventory on all of the things in his kit. Cadmen was watching Wrench and the other hackers work on the SHD code. Nomad was a little surprised to see Cadmen but he was happy that he was back, he walked over to Bowman.

"We stopped at a base in San Mateo and the Masks were packing up all of their gear and cocaine into their trucks. They said something about pulling out within the next twenty four hours. I also found this" he laid the map out on the table

Cadmen looked at the map, ISAC immediately gave feedback. It was a map of one of the many sewer systems in New York. This one was in turtle bay. His brow furrowed and he picked the map up. He took a closer look at it, there were notes written in broken language and code.

"Have you seen this map before?" Nomad asked

"No, but after the quarantine ended there were a lot of handwritten maps for the underground that were passed around. This is one of them, although I believe the Masks made these notes no one during the quarantine was competent enough to write sophisticated piece of code like this aside from the LMB but they didn't spend much time in underground. ISAC can't crack the code either unless we have a codex. My question is why do the Masks have a map of the underground in New York?" Cadmen commented

"They were also packing up lots of heavy ordinance like tank shells and other destructive tools." Nomad added

"Why would they need that?" Cadmen asked

"That's the million dollar question" Nomad replied

"Oh, Cadmen I found these in a supply box that had your phoenix stamped on the side of it."

Weaver laid out the PDAs on the table, Cadmen furrowed his brow again and he told it to play. The voice of a child came over the speaker.

"All those who were going to die, died at least. We had all lost at least one parent, but that's what brings all of us together […] sometimes I felt jealous of the kids who still had someone to care for. […] Now people remembered how things were before the plague, field trips, weekend outings with parents, all the normal everyday things that people used to do. […] the government was gone, the army was gone, and the police were gone. Everyone had to look out for themselves and the Division agents couldn't handle it all."

The whole safe house fell silent no one moved a muscle. Everyone let the recording settle into their minds. Mitchell was starting to feel unwanted memories permeate his mind. He did his best to fight them off. He and this kid had a few things in common.

"These are recordings from New York, a lot of people left phones behind that had recordings on them. Most of them are stories of paranoia or the loss of loved ones." Cadmen spoke

Cadmen grabbed the next PDA and told it to play.

"It's just JTF it will be faster" another kid spoke

"Well it's still men with guns" the girl replied

"Not all men are bad, you know that right?" the boy replied

"True, only men with guns." The girl fired back

"What about the guys from the Division, Hm? Our dad is from the division and he is a good man" the boy continued

There was a glitch in the recording

"All the kids had lost their parents. All of them had made up stories about their parents to make themselves feel better. Ivan and Amelia never stopped talking about their dad a Division agent deployed in NYC. We all knew their dad was dead, but no one wanted to be the one to tell them. It was kind of a pact between us to not break each other's illusions, they were our security blanket. The ones that helped us fall asleep at night, and the ones that gave us faith when would wake up in the morning. Even I had a security blanket but it wasn't about my parents. After the first couple of days things got bad, my mom was already sick. My dad caught the dollar bug soon after. Both of them were dead a week after Black Friday. The people that ran quarantine site kept there for another two weeks. This is how I met the other kids, the other orphans. I know it's weird but it was the truth and I had to face the truth. My parents were dead and I had seen them die."

The recording ended Cadmen knew what the kid had been through. Mitchell had stopped entirely he even stopped counting in his head. He had covered the lower half of face he could feel tears welling up in his eyes. Cadmen played another recording.

"It was time for bed we all went to bed like good kids. After a while I had gone to sleep thinking about my old room and my old house. Was anyone living there now? Was there another kid sleeping in my bed and playing with my stuffed animals?"

Mitchell bit his tongue and walked in the back area, his tears finally over powered his will. He wasn't crying per say but tears were cascading down his face. He knew almost exactly what that kid was going through and his time at the orphanage, the stories the kids would tell about their parents and why they were left behind at the orphanage. He used to tell himself those stories, so he could sleep at night. He also remembered waking up thinking there would be someone that would adopt him only to have his hopes crushed. He was happy that his adoptive parents adopted him but it didn't help the lasting pain that remained in the back of his head. He ran his hand through his hair and down his face.

 _ **Flashback begins…**_

 **October 1994**

Mitchell was nine and going to a public school, he was a loner for the most part mainly because he was thrown around in the foster system and he wouldn't be at this school for long. He didn't even know his classmates names. The downside of this caused him to grow up faster than the rest of the kids at his age. He had already had been in multiple fights at other schools. He was walking to his locker to grab his bag to go back to the orphanage for the day. Some poser fourth graders walked down the hall and they saw Mitchell and decided to have some fun.

"Hey orphan boy" one almost yelled

Mitchell ignored the kid and he kept packing up his stuff.

"Hey kid I'm talking to you" the kid shouted again

"What do you want?" Mitchell asked unamused

"Listen to this little badass" another commented

"I know why your parents left you at that orphanage" the leader of the group smirked

Mitchell put his bag on his back and started to walk away.

"Where do you think you're going kid?" the leader asked and grabbed Mitchell's bag and yanked him back

"I'm going home" Mitchell responded with some anger

"You don't have a home kid, just like you have no parents" another kid spoke and chuckled

The kids laughed there was small circle starting to form in the hall way around the four.

"You know why your parents left you at the orphanage? They left you there because they hated you. They saw your ugly face and said didn't belong in their family." The leader started laughing

The other kids joined in. Mitchell was trying to stop himself from crying.

"Look he's going to cry, aww is the orphan boy going to cry?" another kid laughed

Mitchell had tears coming out of his eyes. His rage finally got to him. He put his leg on the wall and launched himself off the wall at the leader and decked him hard. Mitchell sat on top of the older kid and kept delivering blow after blow to this kids face. The other fourth graders tried pulling him off only to get punched themselves. The kids in the hall formed a circle and started chanting fight. Finally one of the teacher's broke up the fight and took them to principal's office. He decided to talk to the fourth graders first. Mitchell sat alone in the lobby of the office.

"Sweetie, I need to call your parents do you know their number?" the receptionist asked

"My parents are in Europe climbing the Alps you will have to call my aunt." Mitchell told a lie but it was the same lie he told himself.

"Ok" the receptionist spoke skeptically, she pulled his file and understood found the foster parent number and called her

There was another receptionist in the lobby and she had written on a piece of paper the note read: _"he is an orphan don't ask about his parents"_ the first receptionist gave a nod of acknowledgement and nodded. Mitchell knew what the note said it only made him feel worse. He was tired of being called an orphan. The other fourth graders walked out their parents weren't happy, they forced their kids to apologize to Mitchell.

"Sorry for calling you an orphan and saying your parents hated you" the once arrogant leader spoke in a scared and apologetic tone

Mitchell looked at the kids and flew the bird at the group of kids. He had no idea what it meant he saw it on TV and figured it was an insult. The parents gasped at the action, the kids had no idea what it meant. The parents quickly shuffled the kids out the door. The principal saw Mitchell fly the bird. The foster parent finally showed up she wasn't happy about the situation. They walked into the office and the principal explained what happened and had Mitchell give his spiel on what happened.

"Ma'am I'm sorry but I have to expel Mitchell, he has too many infractions on his file as is. It would be a violation of our policy if we let him stay." the principal spoke

The foster mom sighed and gave Mitchell a disappointed look. Mitchell was indifferent on this issue this always happened.

"I understand" the foster mom replied

Mitchell and the foster parent left the building and Mitchell got in the car, Mitchell was in the back seat and his foster mom looked at him in the mirror and she shook her head.

"You wonder why you don't get adopted? It's because of shit like this, this is strike three. child services is going to move you to another home by the end of the week, so pack your things and be ready to move. You are just a natural born trouble maker and that's all you will ever be." The foster mom shook her head and sighed

Mitchell sat quietly and looked out the window, he was able to avoid crying, but he felt unloved and unwanted. Luckily this was the last foster home move before he got his fresh start.

 _ **Flashback ends…**_

Fletcher had come to the back to check on his little brother. He leaned on the door frame to block everyone's view into the room.

"Wanna talk about it?" he asked in a whisper

"No, I don't just I can't listen to those recordings anymore. What that kid went through is all too familiar and I don't want to talk about it anymore." Mitchell spoke with a strong shake in his voice and he was taking deep breaths

Fletcher just nodded and he stayed in door way that lead to the back area so no one else would invade his privacy. Cadmen had ISAC play the recordings through his ear piece and not aloud. No one questioned why Mitchell was back there. The safe house fell silent again and Mitchell wallowed in his memories that he couldn't seem to let go of, he tried his hardest to let them go or suppress them but they would always find a way to creep back into his mind. Luckily he had Fletcher to lean on for support when they were in the field. Bowman's mind had also started to wander, and she realized that Hurk hadn't been there for a while. She figured this would be a good time to shift the subject

"Has anyone seen that redneck around?" She asked

Everyone thought for a minute their looks jumped from one another. No one knew where he had went.

"No, I don't think anyone knows" Meghan commented

"Fuck, can someone go looking for his dumb ass?" Bowman asked

No one stepped up, no one wanted to go look for him. Nomad noticed no one stepped forward he rolled his eyes, he was going to regret this.

"I'll go look for him, Cav could you come with me and Weaver?" Nomad spoke with some annoyance

Cav nodded, she packed up her kit and followed the Ghosts out the door. It was going to be a pain in the ass to find some retarded, adrenaline junkie, redneck in a country full of sicario's, terrorists, and a corrupt military faction.


	23. Chapter 23: Redneck Recon

**A/N: Hey everyone sorry this Chapter took so long to produce I was hoping to have it out before the end of last month obviously that didn't happen. I know most of you are excited for Hurk to be making a come back into the story. I want to apologize if i don't seem to capture his character very well in this chapter. I just don't have a lot of experience with character or the Farcry games. He is role won't be as big as some of you think just because I don't really know his character that well. He also kind of didn't really fit into the plot of the Bolivia chapters that well as you can tell by the other chapters. However this chapter will have him in action. I also want to let you know the next chapter (No ETA on when it will be up) will be the last of the Bolivia chapters. Things will be going back to Hereford and the rest of team Rainbow. along with the building of relationships and building towards the next plot point. Anyways I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Please notify me of any mistakes I may have made especially with translations, also don't be afraid to leave a review. PM me for any questions or concerns. Thank you and Enjoy!**

 _ **Chapter 23: Redneck Recon**_

 **July 20, 2018**

 **0800 hours Itacua Echo**

Nomad, Cav, and Weaver had spent the entire night looking for the redneck that was loose in Bolivia. They poked around in most of the provinces only to find sicario's impaled with shovels and spears. However, Hurk was nowhere to be found. Rebel captains would talk about some American that would come by and blow stuff up with little regard for personal safety. The three had just got back so they could restock and rest up a bit, before heading back out. Wrench, Dedsec, and Grace had spent the night working on the tracking algorithm. They were close to finishing it. Meghan was helping Bowman with the intel and making sure it was good and quality intel. Cadmen had stuck on the couch since had got back, because his legs were still numb and fatigued. Fletcher was checking on Emma's wound, she was going to be fine. He still had to check for infections and other things that could lead to complications. Mitchell had finished inventory of his kit after he calmed down. He was waiting patiently for orders. Aria was on the same page as Mitchell.

"Have you found him?" Bowman asked

"No, just signs of a fight and blast shadows." Nomad replied

Bowman sighed in frustration "What about the rebels? Have they seen him?"

Weaver shook his head. The trio started grabbing ammo and MREs. Bowman looked to Wrench.

"Wrench run a cell phone trace." Bowman demanded

"I need his phone number." Wrench replied not looking away from the screen in front of him

"You should have it seeing as you flew down here with him" Bowman kept her threatening tone.

"It was on my phone which was lost back at the prison that I was at." Wrench replied

"Well we're shit out of luck then, the prison was burnt to a crisp. I have my doubts his phone made it out." Cadmen spoke from the couch

Bowman was royally pissed, Wrench was thinking of ways to run a trace to Hurk's phone as he punched away at the keys on the laptop. It might have been ten minutes before Wrench came up with an idea. He pulled a drive out of his vest pocket and plugged it into the computer. A new window opened requiring login information. He punched in his credentials and the window pulled up the dedsec network. He went to the devices and he started looking for his phone in the list. It took a few minutes but he found it. Another window opened giving the stats of the device, he clicked on the button that allowed him to view the device. A third window opened and he powered his device up and he was able to access the call log. He found Hurk's phone number. He used the phone number to set up a new device on the Dedsec network. He was able to track the device. He pinged it and the ping was up in Mojocoyo.

"Hey Hurk's phone is in Mo..Moj..Mojocoyo" Wrench perked up from the lap top

Bowman looked over to Wrench a little more infuriated. "I thought you didn't have the number to run a trace."

"I hacked my phone's call log and found his number then I was able to run a trace." Wrench replied

Bowman looked to Nomad, Weaver, and Cav. "Get going, bring him back here."

"Gear up we don't know what we are walking into. So be ready for whatever." Nomad commented

Cav and Weaver nodded and they grabbed their gear and got on the chopper. Bowman looked at Wrench frustrated with the fact that he lied about the phone trace.

 **0900 hours Mojocoyo province**

Nomad had locked Hurk's phone on the GPS. Nomad set the chopper down outside of a small village that the rebels had full control of. Nomad had started asking some of the rebels if they had seen the American anywhere or if he had been in the area. No one had seen him, all though they had heard explosions and gunfights out in the distance. Since Bolivia is basically a warzone it is relatively common to hear fighting out in the distance. There was a base to the south of the village. The rebels were going to assault the base to push out whomever was occupying it. The team decided to tag along for the fight. They set up outside of the perimeter of the base. Nomad flew his drone up. White Masks were in the base, they were packing up like the group yesterday. Only this base had a lot more firepower, there had to have been at least seventy Masks at this base. There was a bright yellow single prop seaplane outfitted with guns sitting in one of the hangers. The Name Rye and Sons was written on the chine. Nomad furrowed his brow in confusion as to why a civilian plane was in a White Mask base. Nomad looked to the rebel captain who was leading the assault.

"There are way too many Masks for us to take out, we need to back off. Or you let us go in quietly and deal with the threat." Nomad spoke

"There are never too many enemies for the fire of revolution" The captain remarked and pulled out his radio "All teams go!" He shouted into the radio

The Captain had darted off before Nomad could stop him. The sounds of gunfire started to erupt in the base.

"Fuck" he looked to back to Cav and Weaver "Get in neutralize threats and assist the rebels." Nomad commanded

Nomad led his team into the fray. The Masks had much more training and could deal with the rebels with ease. The Masks took cover behind the trucks, boxes, and buildings. The rebels charged in with little to no care for personal safety. The force of forty rebels was already cut in half by the time they got through the first gate. The gun fire echoed off the buildings and hangers making the fight seem louder than it actually was. Nomad and his team pushed in slowly and carefully. Cav immediately broke off to do what she does best, Nomad and Weaver took cover behind a pile of sandbags with the rebel captain. They popped up every few seconds to take a couple of pot shots. Nomad looked to Weaver

"We need to push into that command building and get the high ground." Nomad shouted

"Got it" Weaver nodded, grabbed a smoke grenade from his chest rig "Smoke out!"

The smoke filled their vision, the Ghosts pushed into the building and quickly scaled the stairs up to the second floor. Weaver wasted no time in setting up, he started dumping rounds down range onto the Masks. The Masks quickly adapted and adjusted their fire to the building.

"Contacts three o'clock high!" A mask shouted

Weaver cowered down as concrete fragments flew over his side of the balcony. The rebels were already retreating leaving the Ghosts and Cav on their own. Nomad was by the main entrance making sure the Masks weren't pushing into the command building. Cav came up behind a group of Masks that were moving to assist the others by the command building. She drew her Lusion and fired seven shots into the group, they all fell to the floor holding their wounds groaning in pain. She came up to one of them and a sinister smile was on her face as she plunged her knife into his throat. She repeated the process with all of them. She was about to rotate to the command building, a volley of shots went right over her head forcing her into cover again. She was pinned down in a hangar that was a good distance away from the command building.

"FUCK ME!" Nomad shouted at the top of his lungs

The concrete that made the door way into the command building was riddled with bullet holes and was fragmenting into what seemed like millions of pieces. Nomad's clothes were turning grey from the amount of dust coming off of the doorway. He blind fired into the crowd outside he took out three of them. He loaded a fresh mag and blind fired again. He pulled back behind cover and reached for his radio, which he normally kept on his rig only to find it missing he looked out the window to see it laying on the ground. _"FUCK" he yelled in his head._ Weaver rotated to the first floor with Nomad. The team was pinned down and out numbered, they couldn't do anything other than blind fire into the groups. Cav on the other hand was having better luck in the fact that she could change positions every so often. The situation still wasn't good. The Masks were able to surmount a large force outside of the command building, keeping the Ghost in their position. Seemingly out of the blue there was loud explosion, launching red sausage all over the place. Followed by a rebel yell.

"THAT'S RIGHT BITCHES, WOOOOOOO!" Hurk shouted as he put a fresh rocket in his AT4 launcher.

Nomad and Weaver peeked out the front door to see remnants of where the Masks had been. The Masks responded to the blast quickly and they came back to the first gate near the command building leaving Cav alone. The Masks focused their fire on the Redneck. Hurk moved surprisingly quick for a big man and got behind cover. The Ghost couldn't help but watch the Redneck. Hurk grabbed what appeared to be an RPG-7, only there was a shovel where the warhead should have been. The shovel itself had a smiley face crudely applied to it. He fired the contraption, the shovel impaled through three Masks with ease. The Ghosts were baffled by the fact the launcher actually worked. The Masks were shocked and put some distance between them and Hurk.

"Nitro out!" A Mask shouted as he lobbed a brick of C4

The Nitro cell missed terribly and hit nothing. The Mask that threw had his face impaled with a spear. While Hurk was using his makeshift arsenal. Cav had worked her way into another Hangar. She saw a few Masks burning papers. She hunkered down and moved quietly behind some tool boxes.

"We can't let any of this fall into the hands of the government destroy it all." The group's leader commanded

Cav stepped out and fired shot into the back of the Mask's head. The other two quickly turned to see their friend hit the floor. Cav fired another shot into the other Mask killing him leaving the leader all by his lonesome. She came up from behind and shoved the leader into the ground.

"What were you destroying?" Cav asked in a menacing tone.

"Fuck you bitch" the Masks retorted.

She delivered a hard punch to his face knocking his mask off. The man smiled and chuckled he moved his tongue to the outside of his molars and pulled something down from his gum line before biting down on a pill. His mouth started to foam up.

"Retribution…is…coming" the Mask gave a few grunts and eased into the afterlife with a smile on his face

Her brow furrowed at the statement, she looked over saw the fire barrel that they were using. She grabbed a paper that was slightly scorched but was still legible. It was another map of something. She stuffed it in one of her other pouches. She moved out into the open again. To see the Masks getting their ass kicked. Hurk fired another rocket from his AT4 turning most of the Masks into pink mist. He let out another rebel yell, his yell echoed over the gunfire. He was having a great time. The Ghosts stepped out from the command building and started to pick off the Masks. One by one the Masks fell.

"LET'S GET OUT OF HERE" A Mask shouted

They started bugging out. They leap frogged their way to the trucks, of course many were lost in the retreat. As soon as they were loaded up they hauled ass to leave the base there was still some equipment left behind but nothing of great value. Hurk fired a rocket and took out one of the trucks. After the dust settled they all regrouped around the hangar that held the Carmina (The name of Nick's Plane). Hurk was still riding the high from his adrenaline rush he spoke a million words a minute.

"Man I have a massive boner right now, that was a hell of a lot fun. I have been looking for this plane all over. Nick was going to be even more pissed if he found that his plane was full of bullet holes. He is probably pissed that I stole his plane in the first pla-"

"SHUT UP!" Nomad shouted

Hurk shut his mouth and stared at the trio

"Thanks for bailing us out, you need to come with us." Nomad spoke

"Ok, this plane has to come with me though." Hurk commented

Nomad nodded, he looked to Weaver and Cav. "Watch him"

Nomad stepped away and found a radio. He tuned it to their frequency.

"TOC this is Nomad, We found him we are returning to the safehouse."

"Good, I have a job for you before you come back here. I have received intel that Sueño is setting up heavy defenses at his mausoleum in Pucara. I need you check it out and take pictures for us, he might be preparing for his final stand. See if Hurk can help out with his plane." Bowman replied

Nomad's shoulders dropped "How about I drop him and his plane off while me, Weaver, and Cav get a closer look."

"I just need a quick flyby picture to confirm, if we need a closer look then you can investigate." Bowman continued

"Alright we'll take care of it" Nomad replied with low enthusiasm

"Bowman out"

Nomad walked back over to the team and Hurk.

"We are going to do a quick fly over Sueño's mausoleum and snag a few pictures before going back to the safe house. Mount up I will be flying" Nomad commanded

"Let me fly I have more experience" Hurk commented

"Just get in the plane, I will fly. Unless you want a bullet in your skull" Nomad calmly expressed

Hurk just looked at him dumbfounded

"If you want to fly that's all you got to say, damn." Hurk got in the copilot's seat.

Nomad started the plane up. It fired on the first pull of the ignition. He taxied it out on to the runway and took off. He set his heading for Pucara.

 **1200 hours Media Luna**

Donny, Keegan, and John were packing their gear up, they were getting ready to leave. They were through in their clean up not even leaving behind a piece of scrap paper. They still had to breakdown their comms system but it wasn't going to take long for it to be put into the bags and cases. They were finishing up with their personal gear when a call came down the line. John was the one to pick up the radio.

"This is Hades"

"Yes I know John, I wanted to make sure that you were all getting ready to pull out" The leader of the Masks commented

"Yeah we are tearing down now. We'll be at the RP on time." John replied

"Good, leave as quietly as possible we already lost a lot of assets in Mojocoyo earlier." The leader continued

"Why are we pulling out? I thought we were helping the cartel." Keegan asked

"Yes we did help the cartel. However we got what we needed and we don't need them anymore. Plus the sicarios pretty useless, Sueño never asked for us to save his cartel. He only asked for our help to restore, there was no mention for us save it. We are also picking up a lot of attention down here from other governments and we need pull back. Just pack up and get out, besides we have something bigger to prepare for" he let out a small chuckle

"What do you mean by that?" Donny asked

"You'll find out when you get back here, Taylor out" He disconnected the call

Donny shook his head in confusion as he put his G28 in his duffle bag. They were all confused but they weren't going to question anything until they got back. They tore the comms system down fairly quickly and packed it all up. They didn't waste any time in getting into their car. Keegan had a Mark 12 in his lap in case it was needed. John had an MP7 stashed in the door. Donny had his BR18 in the back seat with him. They were extra cautious seeing as the Rebels were getting bolder. They rode in silence as they carefully examined the ditches and other cars going by looking for possible threats. They were on one of the main roads. There was a traffic jam, Keegan poked his head out to see an Unidad check point.

"Fuck, get your weapons ready. There is a check point ahead." Keegan commented as he chambered a round.

They all readied and hid their weapons. It was a good fifteen minutes before they got to the check point. Keegan set his rifle between his seat and the door. Donny hid his BR18 under the seat. The Unidad soldier walked up to their car.

"Identificación" (Identification in Spanish) the soldier demanded

John stared at the man for a minute. More soldiers got closer to their vehicle, John handed his ID to the soldier. The other passed their IDs up to John. The soldier looked at the IDs and at the men in the car comparing the pictures. He was skeptic of the three men seeing as they were American.

"Qué haces aquí?" (What are you doing here?) The soldier asked

"Fotografiando aves exóticas" (Photographing exotic birds) John replied

Keegan held up a camera to show their proof. The soldier was still skeptic, he looked at the buildup of cars. He sighed internally.

"Circular" (Move along) the soldier waved his hand signaling them to continue on

John pulled forward and continued to the Mask RP. They all started breathing again, they were nervous that they would have to shoot their way out.

"Fuck that was too close" Keegan commented

"No shit" Donny looked out the back window to see if anyone was following

"This must be why we are pulling out, if the government is gaining strength then Unidad poses a bigger problem than before" John commented as he looked out the rear view mirror

Donny turned around to face the front of the car. He looked at John.

"What do you think Taylor meant by we have something bigger to plan for?" Donny asked

"It's hard to say but it must be big, some of the cells in other countries have pulled back to the main HQ. This is a massive op." Keegan jumped in the conversation

"I think it has to do with the UN plans that you pulled out of Chicago a month ago." John looked at Donny in the rear view.

"What would be the point of hitting the building, there are no UN meetings in the next two or three months." Donny replied

"I don't know Donny we will find out soon enough." John replied

It was another fifteen minutes before they arrived at the RP. They pulled on to the air strip where a Lockheed C-5 Galaxy was being loaded up. They got their gear out of the car and walked onto the plane. One of the lieutenants was holding a clipboard checking the equipment making sure everything that was vital was put where it belonged. John walked up to the lieutenant.

"Hey Gord, why are pulling out?" John asked

The man looked to John "I've got no idea I was kind of hoping you would know." Gordon replied

John sighed as he and his men took a seat. They put their kits under their seats. John wasn't happy he, didn't like that Taylor was being so secretive over the next op and as to why they were being pulled out. Donny and Keegan were slightly concerned but no nearly as much as John.

 **1400 hours Pucara**

The Ghosts, Cav, Hurk were airborne. They had been flying for a good bit. As the rebels kept feeding them intel for places of interest that needed to be checked out. They finally made it to the mausoleum. Nomad brought the plane down they were a few miles out but they could still take the picture. Weaver had the door of the plane open, his legs were hanging out.

"Damn, they are really beefing up their defenses. Look at that, three stationary fifties. Looks arms building just outside." Nomad commented looking out the cockpit window

"They got a huge blockade at the base of the road. They got miniguns set up, multiple mortars and it looks like a SAM site." Weaver started taking pictures with a high speed camera.

"Damn that Church is huge, it's like Godzilla compared to the ones at home built by the peggies." Hurk added

"Shut up" Nomad shouted back

Weaver was snapping as many pictures as he could of the compound. The last of Sueno's most elite sicarios were setting up defenses and digging in. Nomad didn't like the look of the set up, it was perfect to stop any head on attack or a multi stage attack. If they had a gunship it would be easy but JSOC wouldn't give up an AC-130 for a small element of UN and US troops. Nomad was satisfied with their recon.

"Let's get these to Bowman" Nomad spoke and turned the plane towards Itacua

 **1500 hours Itacua Echo**

Mitchell and Fletcher had gotten back after fetching the Jeep after their escapade with Kings a few days ago. They also were able to recover Cadmen's LVOA-C. Meghan was still at the table working with Bowman. Cadmen and Emma were fixing a lot of his tech. Aria was toying with her prismas. Wrench, Dedsec, and Grace were finishing the final touches to their tracking code. Fletcher was working on the Jeep making sure it was still in working order. Mitchell was helping everyone here and there. Nomad and the other walked in, he looked annoyed as did the others. Hurk was extremely vocal on the trip back to Itacua, he would not shut up. Weaver passed the camera off to Bowman and Meghan to examine the pictures.

"Your intel checks out the Cartel is digging in tight. They have SAMs and other heavy caliber weapons." Nomad pointed to the SAM site on the picture.

Bowman nodded. "They are getting ready for a final stand, rebels have been saying that the Sicarios have been pulling out and going to the Mausoleum"

It was Nomad's turn to nod "Also the White Masks I think are pulling out they were packing up their gear again into pretty big trucks."

"They are definitely pulling out they were burning intel, I was able to save this." Cav chimed in and laid the small map that she had found on the table

The edges were scorched and the ink was slightly faded, there was some hand writing on the map it wasn't legible.

"What is this?" Bowman asked

"A map of something. Also the Mask that was in charge of burning the intel gave me a message before he bit down on a pill." Cav continued

Meghan looked at the slightly scorched map this was mapping of infrastructure. A metro system to be exact.

"What was the message?" Meghan asked without looking away from the map

"He said Retribution is coming" Cav calmly replied

Meghan's brow furrowed she shook her head, in all of her time in intelligence she had never had an enemy deliver a message like that. She looked at the mausoleum she could see the huge metal doors that led inside of the building. She scanned the room for Mitchell he was in the garage with Fletcher.

"Mitch!" she almost shouted

Mitchell peeked his head "yeah?"

She waved for him to come over. He came over to her side of the table and looked at the screen.

"How thick do you think those doors are?" she asked

He squinted and moved closer to the screen "It's hard to say based on this picture but I would imagine those are double leaf blast doors possibly with a 5/16" steel skeleton and 5" concrete fill. It's damn near impenetrable. If you are wondering if my grenades will cut that then you are wrong I need a much bigger charge for something like that, a missile would be better suited for that job. Although I can try and build a charge that will blow the hinges off and kick the doors in."

She nodded with slight frustration "What about a cutting torch on the hinges?"

"Blast doors are made to protect against thermal lance, so I couldn't cut it. Even if I could cut it, it would be insanely dangerous carrying an acetylene tank around in a fire fight. I need a lot of intel on the building from plans to insider knowledge about it so I could make a guess as to what I would need to do to get the building opened." Mitchell looked at Bowman and Meghan

"I'll see what I can do." Bowman replied

Mitchell nodded softly and went back to what he was doing. Meghan was closely examining the pictures of the mausoleum. Emma was quite intrigued with Cadmen's tech, she was comparing the canister of the first aid nanobots to Finka's nanbots.

"Who made all of this?" She asked

"Uh…I think Skell tech, although I'm not sure on that" he replied

"I have never seen tech this advanced, you are decades ahead of us and we are on the bleeding edge of tech" she explained

"Well our tech was made for special applications and our tech is supposed to be superior to any other tech company or military group." Cadmen tried to explain why his tech was so advanced without explaining the mission of SHD agents.

"Do you mind if I take one of these canisters back?" She was holding a canister of the first aid bots

He chuckled "I can't let any of my tech leave me so no" He took the canister back with a sly smile

Emma almost pouted, she really wanted something new to tinker with especially when it challenged her expertise. She continued to help Cadmen with his tech despite the fact she wasn't going to get a chance to examine it closer. The group of hackers that were working on the on the tracking algorithm finally finished.

"Cadmen, we're done." Wrench called

Bowman walked over to him. Cadmen could walk now but his legs shook like a colt taking it's first steps. He hobbled over to the table and took a seat before looking at the computer.

"Go ahead run it" Cadmen encouraged

Wrench punched in the commands, the algorithm went to work. It used everything from cell phone cams to security cams. It ran through some of the SHD watches that Cadmen had taken off the hunter. It finally triangulated on La Cruz. It zoomed in on a small building.

"Can you delete the green poison blueprint?" Cadmen asked

"We have to be within a certain proximity for that to work" Wrench stated

"What's the range?"

"You're not going to like it…we have to be within three meters of his SHD device" Wrench continued

Cadmen hung his head "Fuck, if you are that close you're already dead"

"It's the only option we've got so take it or leave it." Bowman commented

Fletcher stepped back in, he had shop rag and wiping some of the grease off his hands. He was leaning against the door frame.

"I'll go" He spoke from across the room.

Cadmen and Bowman turned their attention to him. "I guess that means I'm going too" Mitchell volunteered.

"You should bring one other with you." Cadmen noted

Fletcher looked at Nomad, who was getting an MRE "How about the dirty threesome." Fletcher smirked

Nomad smirked as well "I'll go"

The three restocked on ammo, grenades, and water before heading out. They had set the coordinates on the GPS. Fletcher elected to drive so Nomad could eat. They took the Jeep. Meghan was running comms for the team. She also had another computer that was streaming the body cam footage of the operators. Cadmen was also watching, he threw his legs up on the table and leaned back in his chair.

"If I'm in your way let me know" Cadmen spoke to Meghan who nodded in return.

 **2000 hours La Cruz province**

The team that was dispatched to find Keener was finally in La Cruz they had to take a few back roads because of White Mask convoys on the roads. They were heading out of Bolivia to other airports in other neighboring countries. They stopped about a mile out. Meghan didn't show it but she was worried. She wasn't only worried for Fletcher but for Mitchell as well. If Cadmen was any testament to how good a SHD agent was then they were severely out classed by the agent. The three only used hand signals to communicate.

"This is Reaper 1, we are killing radio transmissions we will comeback online after the op is completed." Fletcher notified

"Roger Reaper 1." Meghan replied

They cautiously and slowly approached the building it was a two story building, it was a small abandoned hotel. They split off Fletcher decided to go alone. The entire building was dead quite. Mitchell and Nomad were pushing from the south and Fletcher from the north. They cleared the first floor with ease, they came to the second floor, and they saw each other at the opposite ends of the hall. There was one room that had a small light coming from under the door. They stacked up on the door they couldn't get a drone in the room. They used hand signals to develop a plan. Mitchell used the stock of his rifle and very lightly pressed it against the door to make sure it wasn't rigged. Fletcher took two flashbangs off his chest rig and prepped them. Nomad pulled a shorty 12 out of his leg holster. Mitchell kicked door in hard, Fletcher followed with the flashbangs. Nomad rushed in right after the flashbangs went off. The room was empty, there was a table with a phone, desk with a computer on it, and a spare SHD watch.

"CLEAR!" Nomad shouted back

The other two stepped in, Fletcher cursed and flipped on his radio.

"TOC This is Reaper 1, Keener must have bugged out he isn't here. We have a phone and a desktop. Asking for orders" Fletcher called in his radio

Bowman gave a frustrated sigh. Cadmen did the same.

"Bring the phone back and capture all of the data you can off the desktop and rtb." Bowman replied.

"Roger that" Nomad replied

They were all a little upset with the fact Keener had bugged out. Nomad jammed a USB drive into the desktop and threw his phone one the keyboard and copied all of the data onto his phone. Mitchell put the phone in a pouch on his rig. Fletcher took the SHD watch and clipped it on his belt. They saddled up and left the building. Cadmen was really pissed

"Typical fucking coward, runs like mother fucking bitch when he was about to lose. Fuckhead." Cadmen spoke with rage he sighed and worked his jaw as he looked out the window.

Everyone looked at Cadmen in slight awe they had never heard him speak like that. Meghan stood up to stretch her legs. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed something glimmer in the light. She turned her head to see Cadmen absent mindedly and roughly playing with his wedding band. He wore it everywhere except when he was going into a fire fight. She softly smiled.

"I bet you can't wait to get back to your wife" Meghan commented

Cadmen turned back and gave her a confused look wondering how she knew that he was married "How did you know?" he asked forgetting about his wedding band.

She simply pointed to his wedding band. He looked down and remembered his mind flashed a quick glimpse of his wedding and Maria slipping the ring on his finger. He focused on one of the best days of his life. "Yeah I can't wait to see her and my kid again" he quietly remarked.

She noticed his mood change almost like the flip of a switch, it took her a minute to put it together. It finally clicked that his wife was no longer around she figured that she divorced him whether he liked it or not and she took his kid with her. "Sorry, I didn't know"

He looked at her "It's alright, I should open up about it more. It's hard for me express that. After I get Sueno's head I'll be happy."

"Why do you want Suneo so bad?" she asked

"His sicarios killed my wife and son as New York fell on its knees. I vowed to finish him when I was done in New York. That's the whole reason of why I'm here." Cadmen replied calmly

Meghan let his statements settle in her mind. She nodded "We'll get him I promise" her eyes beckoned of assurance and determination.

He chuckled softly and he got up and went back to working on his tech.

 **2200 hours Itacua Echo**

Fletcher, Mitchell, and Nomad had just gotten back. The drive was a lot shorter as they didn't have to hide from convoy and no one was on the roads so they were able to go way above the speed limit. Cadmen was still wide awake working on his tech. Meghan was sitting at the computer looking over the last bits of data. Bowman was able to get some insider knowledge on the Mausoleum. Weaver and Aria were on patrol, Emma was resting. Taina was cleaning her pistol. Hurk was making sure Nick's plane was still in working order. Wrench was sleeping which he desperately needed. Mitchell tossed the phone to Cadmen. Fletcher took his rig off and rolled his shoulders, he took his helmet and balaclava off and shook his hair out. He passed the SHD watch to Cadmen. Cadmen looked at the watch his heart dropped, It was Kelly's watch. After Scarecrow went rouge Cadmen and his team went looking for him they found Keener instead. He killed Kelly before Cadmen or Clarke could back her up. Cadmen had looked for her watch all over so he could have a little bit of closure. He was finally was able to have it. He gave Fletcher a silent thank you. Nomad took the drive out of his chest rig. He passed his drive to Bowman. She immediately plugged it in to the computer. She looked at Mitchell.

"Mitchell here are the blueprints for the Mausoleum." Bowman pointed to a rolled up paper

Mitchell nodded and unraveled the roll and laid it out. His focus was drawn to the doors. His theory was correct there was a 5" concrete fill inside of the blast doors. He grabbed a fresh piece of paper and started making an equipment list of all the things he needed to build a custom charge for those doors. After he finished his list he handed it to Bowman.

"It's going to take me at least a week to make sure the charge works and that it has enough punch behind it. So get me about ten of everything on that list. I'm also going to need Wrench to make a small algorithm for this charge."

"I'll get it all" Bowman replied

With that Mitchell took a seat on the couch and fell asleep almost instantly. Cadmen was done examining Kelly's watch he took phone and played the only voicemail on the phone. Keeners gritty voice came over the speaker.

"If you're listening to this then I'm already gone. You had your chance to find me and you blew it. FYI the White Masks have also pulled out of Bolivia. I know you are concerned about me selling a Strain of the Green Poison. I didn't sell it to the Masks it would be stupid of me to do so. I didn't sell it to the Cartel either. As you all know I'm not a very trusting person and I can't afford to be ratted out. Cadmen if you are listening to this, you can tell miss Lau and the rest of those second wave fuckers that they will never find me and I value my freedom over their lives. I also wanted you to have her watch since you were to slow to save her from me" He chuckled "She didn't have to die but she was going to kill me and it either me or her, I chose her…"

The recording stopped. Cadmen shook his head and sighed anger was rising inside of him. If there was one thing he hated more than Sueño it was being taunted especially when it came to Keener.

"He's a bit full of himself isn't he" Bowman commented

"It's not being arrogant when you are right. He has been off the grid ever since the quarantine ended. He has killed many agents from my wave. He might be criminal but you can trust his statements of selling the Green Poison." Cadmen replied with frustration

"How can we trust him?" Bowman asked

"He has morals and they could rat out Keener for whatever reason. It would also get a lot of civilians killed so he won't do it."

Bowman nodded in response. She wasn't exactly thrilled or very trusting of Cadmen's judgement on Keener. The rest of the team that was still awake mainly Fletcher was relishing in the fact that Keener was gone and one less variable to worry about. It was time to focus on the one person they actually came down here for, El Sueno…


	24. Chapter 24: The Road to Home

**A/N: Hello Everyone, So welcome to the final chapter of the Bolivia chapters. The time skips may vary over the next few chapters it should only be a week or two at max. I will try and avoid a series style of chapters like the last two segments of the story. There will be action in these next few chapters but they will mainly build towards the next plot point and the relationships of the operators. I really appreciate all of you reading this story, it means a lot to me. We have just surpassed fifty followers on the story. Again thank you for all of the support. i'll let you get to the story now. If you notice any errors I might have missed please notify me. Don't be afraid to PM me or leave a review. Thank you and Enjoy!**

 _ **Chapter 24: The Road to Home**_

 **August 1, 2018**

 **0700 hours Itacua Echo**

It was surprisingly cool and crisp morning for Bolivia. Everyone there was more than ready to go home. The activity in Bolivia was rebounding to the way it was before the cartel showed up. The cartel was weak. Their influence had retracted and almost disappeared, there were occasional shows of power from the cartel. Almost every sicario was pulled back to the Mausoleum. The Masks had actually left Bolivia much to the surprise of Rainbow and the Ghosts. Unidad was acting the way it should have from the start and was actually helping the rebels and causing problems for the cartel. The Ghosts and Rainbow had gathered all of the intel they could possibly need on Sueño's mausoleum. Mitchell with some help from Wrench was able to build a charge that had the ability to kick the blast doors off the building. He made two of them in case Sueno had a safe room inside. Cadmen was still upset that Keener got away but he was more focused on getting Sueño. Emma wasn't going to be able to participate in the final fight. Her wound had healed for the most part however she did show weakness on that side of her body. Meghan also wasn't cleared for field duty. Fletcher didn't want her out there in case her wound reopened or in case if someone hit her and caused internal bleeding. Meghan didn't like it and she fought with Fletcher over it, she had discovered how stubborn he was and that it rivaled her own stubbornness. It also didn't help that they were tired and their tolerance was running low. She eventually let it go because it wasn't good to fight when in the field and there were more important matters that needed tended to. Almost everyone had a grungy and tired appearance. Nomad and Weaver were developing a plan with Meghan, and Fletcher. Rainbow and Cadmen were going to be the ones to go in the building to actually take out Sueño. While the Ghosts and Rebels would cause a massive distraction at the front. Bowman was pulling assets for a fast evac they didn't want to stick around after they killed Sueño. They had spent most of the morning destroying their intel that wasn't essential and they destroyed almost every trace of their existence in Bolivia. Bowman was in the back room with Wrench and Hurk.

"Both of you are leaving Bolivia right now. If you so much as utter a word of what was happening or what you did down here I will have thrown in prison for treason. If DOJ (Department of Justice) sees fit they might just kill you. Do you understand?" Bowman asked

"Yes ma'am" Wrench replied with a slightly terrified look

"Ok I won't tell no one" Hurk replied with disappointment

"Now you both are going to leave Bolivia right now, I don't want to see either of you again. Now leave" Bowman spoke in a threatening tone.

They both nodded and got up to leave. Before Wrench got out the door. Cadmen pulled him back.

"I appreciate your help even though we didn't get Keener I do appreciate your help. I wish best of luck and be careful flying over the border." Cadmen spoke with sincerity

"No problem" Wrench gave a soft nod before heading out the door.

After those two had left the safe house was much quieter. Mainly because Hurk's voice wasn't echoing throughout the small building. Aria was unamused by the departure she was stocking up her magazines with Cav. Bowman came back to the main table with the others.

"Thank god that asshole is gone I can actually here myself think" Nomad commented earning a chuckle from Fletcher

"Is everything set?" Bowman asked

"Pretty much" Meghan replied

"Run through it again." Bowman commanded

"So at 12:00 hours the rebels with the assistance of the Ghosts will launch a full scale assault on the primary defenses. 12:15 Rainbow and Cadmen will scale up the back rock face and come around to the primary infill point. Where Mitchell will deploy his charge taking out the doors. We enter the building and clear it. We get to Sueño's hiding spot and eliminate him. If he hides in a safe room Mitchell will set another charge we breach and clear. At 12:20 Ghosts should've seized control of a helo. 12:30 the mausoleum is clear we mount up and bug out to here. Destroy the last of our intel and get on a C-130 here in Itacua and go to El Paso, Texas Biggs Army Airfield. From there we go home" Meghan calmly explained

Bowman nodded She liked the plan as did everyone else. There were some imperfections but it was the best plan they could have. Fletcher walked away from the table and he started stocking his MDR mags. Meghan followed him. She stood next to him as he loaded thirty .308 cartridges into the mag.

"Still not going to let me go?" She asked

"Nope, not with your wound." He replied calmly avoiding eye contact

"Come on Fletch, I'm fine. I can fight" She insisted

He looked at her unimpressed, he took one hand and lightly tapped her wound she immediately grunted and flinched clutching the wound. "Yeah, that's a no. If you can't handle that then you definitely can't handle sprinting or being in a fist fight."

She looked away disappointed she wanted to be on the field assisting instead of being at a command center like with operation Orange Sky.

"Look Meg I know you want to be out there but think about. I can't keep eyes on you and watch everyone else's back at the same. You know last long and you will slow the team down in your current state and we can't have that. It's nothing personal, we need to keep the team in mind. If we have to move slower for you to keep pace with us is going to get more of us hurt or killed. That's why I'm not letting Emma come with us either. I'm just trying to keep everyone as safe as possible Ok?" he looked at her

She sighed "Ok I'll stay behind"

He softly smiled and started loading his magazines. She walked away disappointed. All she wanted to do was be in the field. Went back to the computer and started setting up the comms and video feeds. She started helping Bowman with document destruction after she was done with the comms and video feeds. Her wish to be in the field would be granted a little later.

 **1200 hours Pucara**

The rebels were finally ready for the full scale assault. They were very close to rp. They rounded the corner and put the petal to the floor and smashed through the first blockade with ease. Their gunners opened up on the sicarios that managed to get out of the way. The area was filled with the sound of gun fire. The rebels came up on the second blockade. The lead truck was quickly stopped by a .50 HMG. The truck was torn to pieces. The driver and passenger were killed. The truck continued and stopped right at the concrete barriers of the blockade. The sicarios quickly retaliated and started fighting back against their attackers. Nomad and Weaver were on foot. Weaver was picking targets off from a distance. While Nomad closed the distance and got to the front lines, he opened up with his Mk 48. The Sicarios were dug in tight, the biggest issue was the guy on the fifty. It was tearing the rebels to shreds.

"Weaver take out the fifty!" Nomad called to his radio.

Without hesitation Weaver lined up the sicario on the fifty. It only took one shot, there was a large blood splatter from the sicario. His corpse collapsed over the gun. "Gunner down!" Weaver called back. Nomad continued to fire keeping the sicarios suppressed. The rebels pushed up to some of the vehicles that the sicarios were using as cover.

"Push up!" Nomad called to the rebels.

 **Sueño's Safe room**

Sueño was watching the camera footage of the rebels and his sicarios duke it out he looked to the sicario commander that was in the room with him.

"Send all of our men to take this scum out, be sure to kill them all" Sueño spoke with confidence

"Yes Jefe, my men will beat these terrorist back" the sicario replied

He quickly called his men and directed them to the parking lots. The confidence of the sicarios was high they believed that this would be an easy win for them. Sueño's confidence was was also high he had faith in his men and that they would beat the ghosts and the rebels.

 **Outside the Mausoleum**

The rebels and Ghosts got to the first parking lot. The rebels took cover behind the cars and trucks. Nomad pushed up with the captain. He loaded a fresh box into his Mk 48 and he popped up and set the bipod down on the hood of the car and began dumping rounds down range. The Sicarios had bolstered their defenses. They had another machine gun nest set up that had a good line of sight on the parking lot. They were pinned down again, bullets riddled the car Nomad was behind. He grit his teeth and flinched as the fragments flew toward him he continued to keep the fire up. Over the sound of gun fire there was the reverb of a small launch of ordinance. It was quickly followed with screeching. Nomad looked to the sky to see the small projectile flying through the sky.

"MORTAR GET TO COVER" Nomad shouted

The rebels scattered from the vehicles and took cover behind some rocks or they hugged the rock face of the driveway. Nomad fell of the side of the ascending driveway and he rolled down to where the first blockade was. His Mk 48 landed next to him. The mortar shell finally hit and it took out two or three of the cars that were parked in the lot.

"You alright?" Weaver asked

"Yeah I'm fine we need to take that mortar team, I'm heading back up to rebels." Nomad replied and started on his way back up to the rebel's position.

Weaver moved from his nest and sprinted at top speed to the opposite side of the rebels. He started a free hand climb behind the mortar teams. He was able to get up behind the mortars undetected. They were loading and dumping their shells at the parking lot. Weaver took a couple of frags and tossed them into the ammo boxes of the shells that were in reserve. The frags landed with a subtle clunk. The sicarios scrambled to get away only to be engulfed in the explosion the secondary and tertiary explosions claimed a few more lives and the mortar tubes.

"Mortars down" Weaver shouted

"Got it were still pinned by the machine gun nest." Nomad replied

"I'm going to come up on their right on flank and flush them out there." Weaver notified

The rebels got a little more aggressive and pushed up closer to the nest. The sicarios were still holding strong on the parking lot. Dust was flying everywhere, spent rounds littered the ground, burning vehicles and bodies were scattered about. The vehicles were riddled with bullet holes. The hisses and wizzes from missed rounds pierced the air. Every round that Nomad fired kicked dust up off the car and off his clothes. His gun clicked signifying the empty mag, he was out of box mags and he took his R4 (South African R4 not like Ash's R4) off his back. He continued to return fire. Weaver snuck up on the gunners, the rounds from Nomad and the rebel's wizzed past him. He drew his P226 and with three shots he neutralized the three sicarios on the gun.

"I have control of the gun, don't fire on my position." Weaver called out

Nomad told the rebels to stop firing on the nest. Weaver got on the gun and used it to tear the remaining sicarios to shreds. By the time the sicarios realized their own gun was being used against them it was too late.

"Path is clear push up." Weaver called to his leader

He regrouped on Nomad, they and the remaining rebels which wasn't many pushed to the second parking lot and they engaged the enemy. The Sicarios had another machine gun nest set up. The assault team was doing their job in keeping the sicarios occupied at the front of the Mausoleum. The sweeper team was beginning their attack, Cadmen had set up a repel rope on the rock face. He was the first one up, their rp was completely clear not sign of a single sicario. He quietly signaled for the others to come up. Fletcher was the next one up, he and Cadmen secured a perimeter.

"TOC we have passed Omaha" Fletcher called in as everyone finally made it up to the Infill point

"Roger Reaper one" Meghan marked the checkpoint off her paper

"You have five hostile by the main courtyard. Two lookouts and three assault." Meghan looked at the CCTV footage.

"Roger that" Fletcher replied

"Cav take the three standards I'll take the lookouts." Fletcher commanded

Cav nodded the team slowly pushed to the courtyard. Cav single handedly took out the three by the front door. Fletcher took out the two in the lookout points.

"Mitchell get ready for breach" Fletcher commanded

Mitchell got up to the door. Alibi, Cav, and Cadmen were covering Mitchell and Fletcher. Mitchell tossed an Air canister to Fletcher he also had one of these canisters. They stuck them right next to the hinges on the blast doors. Mitchell set a large component in the middle of the door it had at least 10 pounds of C4 strapped to it. There was a digital bar on the metal plate that covered the face of the charge. There was a small battery that buffered between the explosive. There was another air canister on the bottom of the main charge that had two air hoses coming off of it that were long enough to connect to the other canisters on the doors. Mitchell softly hit the charge to make sure the C4 stuck to the wall. They both took up a hose and connected it to the other canisters. The digital bar on the charge started filling with blue bars.

"Stand back this will most definitely give off frag and a huge fire ball" Mitchell commented

They all got behind something that could withstand the blast. Alibi was behind a car, Cav went around the corner of the building. Fletcher and Mitchell got behind another car, Cadmen took out his ballistic shield with his Vector. The bar on the charge was filled completely. Mitchell pulled out his detonator and gave it a hard squeeze. The air canisters on the hinges were the first to detonate. They blew the hinges right off with little effort. The C4 was the next to go. The explosion was so massive that the dust was lifted from almost every surface in a forty foot radius. It cracked the glass on one of the cars. The doors blew inward and crashed into the main area. The marble interior of the lobby was covered in soot and scorch marks. The sicarios that were in the main lobby were killed from the blast and any that survived had lost their hearing or suffered a fatal wound. The team slowly walked in the door. They scanned every corner and inch of the lobby. There were only remains of the sicarios that once guarded the area.

"TOC passed Viper, I need you find Sueño in the building we are starting our sweep." Fletcher called back

Meghan checked the waypoint off. She quickly cycled through the cams in the building. All of the sicarios were confused and looking down the halls trying to figure out what the blast was. She finally found Sueño, he was in his safe room. Meghan pressed the comms button.

"Sueño is in his safe room in the west wing, there are roughly fifty to sixty in your path. Cav there are a few tunnels that you could use to get quietly and quickly the covers look like manhole covers." Meghan informed the team

"Got it were Oscar Mike" Fletcher replied "Cadmen grab your shield and take point. Me and Mitchell rear security, Alibi move with Cav try to get into their back line and we'll fuck 'em up" Fletcher continued

"Got it" Alibi replied, still didn't like that Fletcher was in command but this was the final op so she just agreed with him and did as he said.

The girls broke off Cadmen put on his D3-FNC (classified obviously) gear set and deployed his shield with his Vector. "I'm ready to roll" Cadmen spoke

Fletcher and Mitchell nodded as Cadmen went to the next door and smashed it in with his shield. He was greeted with a wall of gun fire. There were at least ten sicarios inside the room. The room itself was relatively small it was comparable to a master bedroom. He continued his push, he started firing with his Vector neutralizing as many threats as he could.

"Reloading!" He shouted

Fletcher started peeking to Cadmen's right taking out targets as the agent reloaded. Mitchell took the left. He switched his M4 to three burst so he could conserve as much ammo as he could. Each burst claimed the life of a sicario. Cadmen finished his reload and started opening up on the remaining sicarios. They continued to fire at Cadmen's shield, he pushed up. Mitchell and Fletcher stepped out from behind the shield. Fletcher took cover behind a couch, Mitchell flipped a table over and used it as cover. Cadmen ws on top of the remaining sicarios. He shoved a sicario to the ground with his shield before finishing him off. One noticed Cadmen's exposed back he stood up only to be greeted with three 5.56 rounds. Fletcher could barely see the other sicario's head and he fired two or three shots. The sicario crumpled over on to the floor.

"Clear!" Cadmen shouted

The other two stood up, there were two doors. One to the left and one to the right.

"TOC which way?" Cadmen asked

Meghan looked at the blueprints at her side. She carefully scanned the hall ways.

"Take the door on the right" She replied

Cadmen repeated the process and smashed the door in, they continued their push. Cav and Alibi were in a tunnel under the mausoleum. Cav looked up at one of the manhole covers and she pushed it out of the way, she climbed out into an empty hallway she help Alibi out. They were behind the sicarios. They were at a junction of two or three hallways.

"Valkyrie which hallway do we take?" Cav asked

Meghan found them on cams she examined her blueprints. "Take the center hallway after thirty feet swing right and that will take you to where the others pushing from. You have a few in your path."

"Copy"

Alibi took point, the two pushed into the designated hallway. There were some sicarios regrouping and trying to figure out the best way to counter attack. Alibi barely peeked her head around the corner she used hand signals to tell Cav how many there were in the hall. Cav smiled and she stepped into the hall. They were too occupied with their conversation to notice Cav in the hallway. She fired four shots and killed all of the sicarios. She signaled for Alibi to come, they continued their sweep the sound of small arms fire filled their ears.

Sueño was in his safe room unaware of Meghan being in his camera feed, he was watching the battle outside. He looked to the cameras inside the building he finally noticed that Rainbow was in the building. They were making quick work of the sicarios. The sicario leader dispatched his men to the location of the fight. He was starting to get worried as he saw the Rainbow ops and the Division agent chalking up his men with ease. He quietly watched the battles, his hands were folded in front of his face as he watched the monitors. He was hoping that his men would be able to hold their position and make the operators run from the fight.

"Ghost watch your fire to your twelve were coming in from behind" Alibi called out

"Got It!" He replied in the radio "Inferno ,Cadmen watch your fire to your 12 Alibi and Cav are coming from that way."

"Roger that!" Cadmen shouted in reply

"Got it!" Mitchell replied

Alibi and Cav were on the sicario's six. Alibi threw a prisma out and into the hall way. It caught the attention of a sicario, he shot the clone. It confused him when the body didn't fall. Alibi peeked out and took out the sicario. The other sicarios quickly caught on and took cover behind some of the statues and tables that were in the hall. The sicario's leader was shouting many commands to his men. They were going to fight to their dying breath. Both factions were locked into a stalemate over the hall way it was maybe five or so minutes before Alibi had enough.

"Inferno launch a grenade into those fuckers!" She shouted into the radio

"Roger danger close!" Mitchell replied

He stepped out from Cadmen's side and launched his grenade into the center of the hall. There was a loud bang followed by a rush of hot air the hallway became engulfed in flames so did the sicarios. There were screaming many profanities in Spanish as they burned. The hallway became inaccessible because of the fire.

Sueño and his sicario leads watched in awe as half of their force was cut down by the grenade. They knew the end was near, the sicarios quit watching the camera feed and they took their seats at the table in the room. They quietly sat not even making eye contact, they began to mourn their friends. Sueño was starting to give up he knew that his men would lose the battle. He sat quietly and solemnly watched the CCTV footage.

"Toc we need another route" Fletcher called

"One minute" Meghan replied "you're going to have to back through the way you came and take the left door follow the hall down to the third room on the right will take you to the main hallway. Cav and Alibi go back to the tunnel and take that back to the main room and sweep as a whole team." She started cycling through the cameras "Your path is clear back to the main room."

"Roger that were moving." Fletcher replied

The two teams moved quickly to the main lobby. They regrouped and moved into the second room and took the designated room to the main hall. Cadmen was still on point his shield was regenerating some of the armor plating that was shot up from the sicarios. Alibi was right behind Cadmen Cav was the third in their lineup. Mitchell and Fletcher were in the back since they had longer range weapons. The team continued to move fluidly through the building. Meghan was going through the cams looking for threats.

"You have three sicarios in the room to your right" Meghan called

"Copy" Fletcher broke formation and noticed the door was soft "Droning cover me"

The team took up defensive positions in the hall. Mitchell stood in front of the door ready to breach. Fletcher took his drone in under the door he noted all of the sicarios position. He looked to Mitchell and nodded. Mitchell put his rifle up to the door, Fletcher slowly creaked the door open. He quickly tossed a flash into the room. It detonated and Mitchell charged in and took out the first sicario that was right in front of the door with ease. Fletcher stepped in and took the one to Mitchell's right. Mitchell quickly snapped to the third sicario in the room and took him down with one burst.

"Room Clear moving" Mitchell called

They started moving again. Most of the sicarios were setting up a final stand outside of the safe room. Meghan was watching them set up their defenses. It was very familiar of a White Mask set up. She noted the set up and the reinforcements that were being placed down. They were even setting up peek holes, Deployable shields and barbed wire was laid out.

"Sicarios are setting up in the room outside of the safe room it looks like a standard White Mask set up. Inferno you will have to breach the wall in order to get in the room with minimal resistance." Meghan noted

"Do they have a trophy system set up anywhere? Or anything to stop the breach?" Mitchell asked

"Not from what I can tell. You look good to breach." Meghan replied

It was a few minutes before they got to the exterior room. Mitchell examined the walls looking for the best breach. He called Cadmen over. Fletcher, Cav and Alibi were going to breach the main door. Mitchell and Fletcher droned the room making sure that they knew where the hostiles were. Fletcher set up a breach charge on the door, Mitchell took a step back and readied his grenade.

"Breach on my go…3…2…1…BREACH!" Fletcher shouted

Mitchell had preemptively fired his grenade into the wall to have a synchronous breach. Fletcher blew the charge. Alibi and Cadmen threw flashes into the room catching five sicarios off guard. Cadmen pushed in with his shield drawn and his vector firing controlled bursts into the stunned sicarios. Fletcher was the first one in and he took out one of the sicarios as Alibi stepped in and took out another. The sicarios quickly retaliated and began to fire on the shield and onto Fletcher and the others. They all took cover behind anything they could.

Sueño was locked in his safe room, he had five sicarios in the room with him. He was carefully watching the cameras outside and outside of his saferoom. His sicarios were being beaten down with ease. The rebels and Ghosts had ceased control of the helipads and parking areas. The sicarios were on the run and the rebels were in pursuit. Sueño sat down at his table and quietly watched the last of his empire begin to fall to pieces. There was no amnesty or escape he was going to be arrested at minimum. His frustration grew, his personal guards sat in the room demoralized as they watch their comrades get gunned down by Rainbow and the Ghosts. A sicario walked to his boss and he pulled an FN five-seven and handed it to the Mexican giant.

"If you die today, you will not die a coward's death and you will die as royalty striking inspiration into the hearts of all Santa Blanca sicarios." The sicario spoke with courage and honor

Sueño smirked "Thank you my child, we will die a death or glory and be in the embrace of Santa Murte, pray with me my children."

They all bowed their heads and recited a prayer asking for the blessing of their god and that may die with honor and dignity. They came up from their prayer and Rainbow with Cadmen's help they had cleared out the remaining sicarios. The team was prepping their breach the charge went down the same way as last time. Only Mitchell had shrunk the charge down by taking five pounds of the C4 off the charge. They stacked up on the door, Cadmen had switched to his LVOA and put his shield back. He and Alibi were up front they were going to be the first ones in the room. They were the ones who wanted Sueño the most out of their group. Mitchell and Fletcher set the charge.

"Ready to breach on your go" Mitchell held the detonator

Alibi nodded, she looked to Cadmen who nodded in return. Fletcher prepped a couple of flash bangs. The team readied their guns and all signaled they were ready. Alibi put a fresh mag in a she took a breath.

"Breach on my mark…3…2…1...Mark!" She shouted

Mitchell squeezed the detonator, within a quick and fluid motion the charge detonated. Fletcher chucked the flashbangs in. Cadmen and Alibi were the first ones in the room. The last sicarios were starting to pick themselves up off the floor they were stunned and they could not hear the team enter the room. Cadmen and Alibi stepped into the room they walked forward in sync looking for Sueño. The rest of the team walked in the door, Cav started taking out the sicarios with Fletcher and Mitchell's assistance. Sueño was picking himself up off the floor with the five seven in hand, he looked to Alibi and he could feel her rage and he then looked to Cadmen both had a fire of rage bubbling up inside them. He didn't say a word to the pair he raised his handgun. Alibi and Cadmen wasted no time and as if they were communicating telepathically they fired at Sueño's head at the same time. His head nearly exploded Alibi and Cadmen looked at each other and smiled softly.

"Room Clear! HVT neutralized. Sending biometrics now." Cadmen took a couple of picture of Sueño's body and sent it to Bowman and Meghan

"Standby" Bowman ran facial recognition on the picture a few minutes passed "That's him Sueño is confirmed dead

There was a sigh of relief and a wave of accomplishment that came from everyone. They immediately started on their way out of the Mausoleum. They walked over the corpses that lined the halls, there was still a battle that was raging outside. Nomad and Weaver had a chopper locked down for evac. They were patiently waiting for the rest of the team to join them in the shots were ringing out and the bullets were still flying by their heads.

"Reaper one we have a chopper ready, if you guys could hurry up and get to the helipad so we can get out of here." Nomad called into the radio

"Roger we are moving to your position now." Fletcher replied "TOC we are moving to exfill"

"Copy Reaper one, you have a large fight outside of the mausoleum" Meghan called back to the team

Cadmen was on point with the rest of the team in a line behind him. They were sprinting at top speed. They got out the door to see the battle continuing. They continued to run to the helipad without stopping for the battle. Rounds were flying through the air from both sides, one round scraped the side of Mitchell's helmet. He didn't dare stop running none of them did, they continued to move. It took four or five minutes to get to the helipad. No words were exchanged between the teams as they mounted up on the chopper and they started the trek back to Itacua echo.

 **1300 hours Itacua**

The team had just got back from their op that took a little longer than expected but they were still on schedule. They were all destroying every bit of their existence in Bolivia, Bowman was on the phone with JSOC getting a plane ready to pick them up. She didn't look happy there were some curses exchanged between her and the other side of the line. Meghan and Fletcher were destroying all of their paper documents. Cadmen and Emma were destroying all of their electronic data. Mitchell, Aria, and Taina were packing up all of their stuff and the others stuff. Nomad and Weaver were keeping guard outside making sure no sicario or rebel came looking for them. Bowman walked into the main room where everyone was bustling to complete their assigned tasks. She rubbed her forehead with the back of her right hand that was holding her phone.

"We won't be able to go straight to El Paso from here, the plane we are using is Mexican military. So we will have to stop in Juarez, Mexico and leave from there in a vehicle." Bowman sighed

The door to the safehouse was open so both Nomad and Weaver overheard Bowman. Nomad walked in the room.

"Wait a minute, they want us to go straight through the home of the SBC. Are they fucking nuts?! Why can't Air Force pick us up?" Nomad asked with agitation

"They didn't want to risk the public know of the US involvement here in Bolivia." Bowman replied

"Fucking cake eating (a derogatory term for Officers in the military) sons of bitches" Nomad shook his head

"Bowman get a hold of another contact and tell them to leave us a Gurkha F5 in desert tan and with a mini gun. Tell them to put it in one of the hangars at the airstrip. If they can't get one of those then they need to get us two Local Motors Rally Fighters. If we can't we can't fly out then we sure as hell are going to smash our way out." Fletcher commented as he dumped a bunch of papers into the burn barrel.

"What the hell is a Gurkha?" Bowman asked

"A massive APC it should fit all of us and take a bunch of abuse. Make sure it's the F5 variant. The rally fighters are a couple of off road speed demons that we can take into the desert if need be. Make sure you get either one." Fletcher replied

Bowman nodded and quickly got back on the phone with her contact and began to set everything up for their extraction. It was a good ten minutes before she got off the phone, she was less upset this time, she looked to Fletcher.

"I was able to get up a Gurkha for extraction, they also have a small QRF stationed at the border in case we need to be bailed out. They also had to stamp a rival cartel symbol on the on the vehicle so we can't be identified as American and UN troops." Bowman stated

Both Nomad and Fletcher nodded in sync and they shared a look and nodded. Cadmen and Emma finished with their destruction of the electronic data. Cadmen got up from the table and he grabbed his LVOA. He looked at the group and they looked at him, he softly smiled and chambered a round. "You guys don't have to worry about transporting me back to the states I can find my own way home."

"How are you going to get back?" Emma asked

"Same way I got here and none of you need to know how I got here" Cadmen replied

"Are you sure? We still have an extra seat" Mitchell asked

Cadmen chuckled "Yeah I'm sure. You guys are loaded down enough you don't need an extra body to slow you down." He fell silent for a second and he smiled as if to savor the moment "I best be going before they figure out that I have been down here for the past month. It was an honor to work with you all."

Went around shaking everyone's hands and saying good bye to everyone. He came to Meghan who hugged him. "I hope that you can find peace now, and that your family is in peace as well" she whispered so no one would hear her.

He returned the hug and he smiled. He gave a huff of amusement after Meghan's statement he could feel a small tear well up in his eye "I can finally be at peace and now they can too. Thank you for all your help." He broke off the hug and blinked his eyes so she wouldn't see his tear.

Fletcher looked at Cadmen and Meghan, jealousy wouldn't be the correct term for his feeling. He was more curious and wanting understanding. Cadmen walked to the door and took one last look at the group with the smile and he walked out the door and out of their lives. They were all going to miss him he was a good friend to everyone and being on the battlefield and in a close living space makes a group grow much closer together. He was going to miss them as well, he thought it was fun to run with the pack for once instead of being the lone wolf like he was in New York. He smiled to himself as he trudged through the forest again. He felt good and he was happy. Weaver looked back out the door and in the direction that he walked off in, and there wasn't even the slightest trace of existence which was something he learned from Cav. They all looked out the door for a few minutes just to see if he would come back. He didn't come back and the team focused on what they were doing.

It was another forty minutes before the safe house was entirely cleared and everything was destroyed. They were able to get to the plane with ease not a soul in Bolivia was in the general route that they were taking. They ultimately had to destroy the jeep as the plane didn't have the room for it. The plan was that they would try and go through the border checkpoints, their secondary plan was to go across the desert to get into the US. Bowman and the Ghosts sat together. Taina, Aria, and Emma all sat together. Mitchell sat by himself and laid out across a couple of seats using his pack as a pillow. Meghan and Fletcher sat together. Everyone through their bags under their seats. Everyone was catching shut eye on the plane. Before Meghan could fall asleep Fletcher looked at her for an explanation.

"What was that with Cadmen?" He asked calmly and with a tinge of curiosity

She looked around only to see that everyone was pretty much asleep.

"He lost his wife and kid in New York and I guess I'm the only that knew out of us." Meghan looked back at Fletcher

"I get it" He simply replied and he then smirked "I'm glad that it's just that and you weren't having an affair." He chuckled softly

Meghan's eyes widened and her cheeks burned a rose red. She leaned in close and whispered "we don't need anyone to know about us just yet." She whispered

Fletcher simply chuckled in return. Little did they know Cav heard them and took the intel gladly. Meghan just leaned back in her seat and shook her head with a smirk at Fletcher who continued to chuckle. She was actually surprised that Fletcher said that. She was happy that he considered them together after they calmed a little they fell asleep.

 **1500 hours Ciudad Juarez international airport**

The plane had landed in a very discrete area of the airport. Everyone had woke up from their cat naps and stretched. Their mindsets had shifted and they were in a sort of survival state. The cargo ramp opened up on the plane and they all stepped out. Almost immediately as they set foot on the ramp weird feeling swept across the group, they could feel eyes on them they exchanged looks with each other.

"We are being watched" Nomad commented as he readied his Mk 48

"Yeah there is a lot of them" Fletcher replied and he pressed the button to release the charging handle on his MDR

"Let's move slow and calmly we don't want them to know that we know that they are here" Nomad commented

Everyone subtlety prepped their weapons and they walked over to the hangar where the Gurkha was waiting. The news of El Jefe's death spread like wildfire throughout the land. Everyone heard about the myths of Americans being involved in the Cartel leader's death and the investors of the SBC weren't happy about this. They had caught word of a plane with soldiers on board and they wanted revenge. There were corrupt military personnel that were bought out by the investors of the SBC that were watching them. They had their men stage in another hangar. The group was out in the middle of tarmac, halfway out to the hangar. The officer was watching the team from the control tower, he saw the team out in the open. He grabbed his radio and told his men to attack. The soldiers ran out of the other hangar and the team already had their guns up. The soldiers began to fire on the group. Shots rang out between the team and the soldiers.

"Everyone to the hangar now!" Fletcher shouted

Everyone was in a mad sprint to the hangar Nomad was firing his Mk 48 back at the soldiers as he ran. He Twitch and Valk were both having pains from their wounds they pushed through the pain and continue to sprint.

"These guys are crazy!" Alibi shouted as her Mx4 rang out.

"Just keep moving!" Weaver shouted firing his M249

Bowman only had P90 and she was also shooting at the soldiers. It was a quick ninety seconds before they were in the hangar. Shots continued to hit the side of the hangar and the soldiers started to surround the building. The team didn't bother to check if the hangar was clear or if the vehicle was tampered with. Fletcher was in the driver's seat, Valkyrie was in the passenger seat, Mitchell was on the minigun, Twitch, Cav, Alibi, and Bowman took the second set of seats. With Nomad and Weaver took the back. Fletcher turned the key and the diesel engine came to life, he put the petal to the floor and they smashed through the hangar door sending it into fragments. The soldiers quickly dove out of the way to avoid being taken out by the vehicle. Fletcher kept the petal pinned down. The soldiers quickly regrouped and gave chase to the group. Meghan became the navigator of the team. Mitchell was on the gun, Nomad and Weaver had their LMGs in hand in case the back window was shot out. Aria, Taina and Bowman were in the center looking out the passenger windows. Fletcher looked in the rearview and saw the soldiers in pursuit of them. They were in standard Humvees the soldiers started firing at the team.

"Mitchell take care of those guys!" Fletcher called

Mitchell turned the turret to face the rear, he pressed down on the gun's trigger. The minigun whined as it spooled up. The sound of the minigun firing resonated throughout the packed streets of Juarez. All of the civilians were running for cover and diving into buildings. Mitchell chewed up one Humvee, the vehicle crashed into a couple of parked cars sending glass and twisted metal everywhere.

"Take a right at the next junction" Valkyrie called

Fletcher nodded as he focused on the path ahead of him. The sound of sirens could be heard, Fletcher took the right turn at the next intersection. They rounded the corner by jumping the curb. He quickly brought them back onto the road. Mitchell kept the gun going avoiding civilians. The Mexican soldiers were still in pursuit. The Gurkha was screaming as it flew through the crowded streets of Juarez. The sound of bullets hitting metal and small arms fire rang out across the city. The police scanners were full of life, calls were pouring in from all over the city from the gunfire. The state police was just another form of the cartel units were being dispatched to the pursuit. A state police officer came along the side of the team he slammed his car into the team's vehicle. The truck jumped on to two wheels before slamming back down. The officers in the car pulled out their shotgun and shot out the driver's window. The glass went all over the front seats. Fletcher closed his left eye to avoid a shard getting into his eye. However it didn't stop a shard from puncturing just below his cheek bone.

"Fuck!" he shouted

He quickly drew his handgun with his right hand and shot at the officers. He fired the entire mag as fast as he could. He took out the one officer with the gun however the driver of the patrol vehicle slammed into the truck again making Fletcher drop his gun onto the floor. Fletcher swerved the truck out and slammed into the crown Victoria and sent it over the sidewalk and into a building.

"Fletch take the next left and stay on the road for ten and a half miles and we should be at the border!" Valkyrie called out

"Got it! Bowman pass up your P90 and a few mags!" Fletcher called back

Bowman passed her SMG to Valk along with the spare mags that she carried. Meghan reloaded the gun and handed it to Fletcher. The sound of empty cartridges hitting the metal floor filled the sound of the truck there were was the sound of bullets striking the metal plating on the vehicle. Nomad and Weaver were watching the pursuing soldiers get chewed up by Mitchell on the gun. Alibi and Cav were looking out the windows watching for more threats. Fletcher looked in the damaged rearview mirrors.

"Two patrol cars both sides, take them out!" Fletcher shouted back

Two more police officers pulled up on either side of the truck. Emma smashed the window out with the stock of her rifle. She took her F2 and dumped the mag into the cop car. She tagged the officers in the car. The car slowed and took out a Humvee. Alibi at the other window, did the same as Twitch only her car hit the parked cars. They got closer to the overpass that would take them to the border. There was a road block from the state police.

"Mitchell burn up the road block and everyone brace we are going to smash through it!" Fletcher shouted.

"Burning road block!" Mitchell rotated the turret to the front of the vehicle

He opened up letting the bullets tear through the officer's cars, the officers were quickly turned to a collection of pink mist and detached body parts. The cars were shredded to pieces the sheet metal on the cars was riddled with holes and was weak. Fletcher kept the petal to the floor, everyone braced for impact onto the cars. With a loud bang, the crunch of metal, and clouds of dust and dirt filled the air as they smashed through the roadblock. They kept their speed up, the soldiers kept chasing the group.

"Those soldiers are still on us!" Nomad shouted "Bowman get the border patrol and QRF ready for intercept"

Bowman didn't hesitate and pulled the radio out of her bag and tuned it to the border patrol frequency.

"Border unit 2 we have multiple pursuers of the SBC in military Humvees." Bowman called

"Roger that we are fortifying and locking down the border crossing. The lanes going into the US are blocked off and filled with traffic I suggest taking the oncoming lanes. We will be ready for intercept" the patrol leader replied

"Solid copy." Bowman switched over to the Marine frequency "River 1 this is Rock 3 we have multiple tangos we are almost over the border we will need CAS (close air support)"

"Copy, we can only engage if they engage on US soil. River 1 out" The Marine leader replied

Bowman shut off the radio, the sound of the minigun filled the ears of the passengers of the truck. "Ghost take the oncoming lanes across the border, border patrol is locking down the checkpoints and QRF can only engage if the soldiers engage on the US side of the border"

"Got it!" Fletcher replied

He dumped a P90 mag out his window taking out another vehicle. The border was now in view and the soldiers didn't look like they were going to give up. Fletcher was looking for a crossing and there wasn't one. Their path was heavily congested at the crossing.

"Hold on we're going through the barrier" Fletcher called

He took the truck and smashed it through the barrier. They reached the pavement again the truck slid across the pavement, Fletcher looked a composer trying to have his band stay on beat. The truck was all over the road. The others were holding on to the interior trying not to fall out their seats. He finally recovered control on the truck. The soldiers had backed off and stopped at the breach in the barrier and they watched the team drive over the barrier. Mitchell had stopped shooting.

"They're giving up we should be ok from here" Mitchell commented as the minigun spooled down

He was standing on pile of empty shells. Fletcher slowed down and pulled the glass shard out of his face and tossed it out the broken window. The adrenaline in their systems was starting the expel itself. They passed the US checkpoint, they rolled into the air base after another fifteen minutes Fletcher parked the truck in front of the main building. The team all got out of the truck with their bags. The truck was riddled with bullet holes there was some steam coming from the radiator. The Gurkha hissed like a cobra, as the engine cooled after its run. Fletcher was the first one out he looked at the vehicle and he let out a sigh of relief. Nomad patted Fletcher on the shoulder.

"Nice driving" was all that Nomad said

Fletcher nodded with a soft smile, Meghan got out with her rucksack over her shoulder she walked over to Fletcher with a soft and tired smile. They all walked into the building. The base commander had drinks and some sandwiches out for all of them. They were in the Officer's club, no one else was in the room but those nine. They all sat down at the tables in the room. The base commander walked into the room and looked at all of the operators faces. He could tell they were ready to leave.

"Your planes are fueling up as we speak, team Rainbow your plane will take you straight back to your base. One of my assistants will notify you when you the plane is ready. As for you three your teammates are here to meet you, JSOC wants to meet you three for a debrief. Other than that you can use facilities as you please." The commander walked out of the room

The team sat in silence as they ate and drank. They were all dead beat tired and ready to go back home. Mitchell was fighting himself to keep from falling asleep. Emma as usual had her drone out and looking it over. Meghan had her head propped up on her fist with her eyes shut. Taina was wiping her face paint off. Aria was looking her Prismas. Fletcher was leaning back in his chair closing his eyes. Nomad was on his phone looking through the news. Weaver was looking at his M14. Bowman was already starting on her debrief for the CIA. It was a good five minutes before a runner came to the room. A private came into the room.

"Rainbow, whoever that is your plane is ready." The private spoke

The Rainbow ops put their things back into their sacks and got up. The Ghosts and Bowman got up as well.

"It was good to work with all of you again. Fletch and Mitch it was good to see you" Nomad smiled

Everyone shared a smile. "It was good to see you again Nomad, just give us a call when you need help" Mitchell smiled

"Nah, I'm done. I'm going to retire and live a life with my wife and kid. This job is just to taxing on our relationship" Nomad returned

Weaver looked at his team leader shocked. Bowman was little surprised by the comment.

"Well then I wish best of luck" Fletcher replied "as for you Bowman you are alright for spook. Maybe our paths will cross again."

Bowman rolled her eyes she wasn't one for sentiment. "For a stubborn jackass operator you're alright as well."

He chuckled in return. Meghan looked at Bowman and smiled. "Hopefully we will see each other again on better terms."

"I hope so too, you're going to miss your plane if you wait any longer." Bowman replied

Bowman and Taina shared a look that wasn't friendly they were still at odds with each other. They broke their gazes from eachother after a few seconds. The Rainbow ops nodded and shook hands with their counter parts before leaving Fletcher and Mitchell had a hard time saying good bye to their friend. They really didn't want to say good bye as this maybe the last time they would see their bearded friend. The Rainbow ops did eventually say good bye and got on the plane that was bound for Hereford. The Ghosts watched the other operators leave before heading to the medical wing to see Midas and Holt. They were happy to see their comrade. However Nomad stopped in a room that was somewhat secluded. He pulled out his phone and called his wife.

"Hello?" she asked

"Cass, it's me"

"Tony, are you coming home?"

"Yeah, only this time I'm staying, I'm serious this time. I'm not leaving you again."

"You've said this before and still you left, why should I believe it this time?"

"Because I mean it, I'm coming home and that's final I promise. I'm not going out in the field again. I might become an instructor but that's all. I should be home tomorrow we discuss it then. I gotta go. I love you."

"I love you, too"

Nomad felt better like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. He smiled as he walked into the medical wing to talk with his team. Rainbow was on their plane. There were hammocks set up for all of the operators. Everyone took the opportunity to sleep.

 **1800 hours Hereford Base**

The plane had just landed all of the ops got off the plane. Still tired, they walked as a group back to the base. Their sacks over their shoulders. Mitchell went to gun a stick only for Fletcher to rip the cigarette out of his mouth.

"Hey!" Mitchell looked to his brother

Fletcher pointed a finger at Mitchell "You need to stop smoking that shit."

"Ok, dad jeez" Mitchell smiled

Fletcher shook his head and chuckled, everyone smiled at the interaction. The team walked into the base. They all split off for their dorms and showers. Before Meghan and Emma could get to far Fletcher pulled them off.

"We're going to see Gustave and get your wounds checked."

Both let out sighs they wanted to get a shower and go to sleep.

"Can we at least shower first?" Meghan asked in slight protest

"No, the sooner we get this done the sooner you get a shower."

Neither Meghan nor Emma were motivated enough to fight with fletcher and they all walked to Gustave's office. They all walked into the office and they took seats still in their gear. Gustave heard stirring out in his office. He walked out to see the trio, he was surprised to see the group.

"Hello I see you all are finally back" Gustave stated

"Yeah, Meghan needs an X-ray on her stomach. She took a bullet there and it fragmented and I want to make sure that I got all of the fragments out. Emma needs her wound looked at." Fletcher explained.

"Ok then. If you ladies would you follow me." Gustave smiled

Meghan and Emma followed him to the back. Mitchell immediately went to the showers. Jordan, Seamus, and Craig were also in the showers. They laughed at Mitchell's hair as it was long and disproportioned. The other three had just got back from a spin up. Mitchell cut his hair before getting into a shower stall.

"How was Bolivia?" Jordan asked

"Shitty. It was hotter than the sandbox, more bugs and snakes than the fucking amazon. Drugged up sicarios all over the place shooting at my ass. White Masks, a rouge military group and a PMC all against us and assisting the cartel. I'm happy to be out of there." Mitchell replied as he washed his hair

"Well that explains a few things" Craig jumped in the conversation

"Explains what?" Mitchell asked

"It explains why the Masks were less active everywhere else."

"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me there were a lot of them in Bolivia." Mitchell replied

"Did everyone make it out alright?" Seamus asked

"Yeah, we only had one hiccup with Meghan and Emma taking a bullet. The bullet went through Emma and fragged in Meghan's gut. Both should be ok. I think Fletcher took them to Gustave for a final check." Mitchell replied again

They all stopped talking and continued to shower. Mitchell went over himself two or three times to ensure all of his BO was gone. He trimmed his facial hair to a stubble length with his trimmers after he finished showering. He was the only one in the room by that point. He looked at himself in the mirror and he took a breath as he thought about the past few weeks. Fletcher walked into the room and looked at Mitchell.

"You alright?" he asked

"Yeah I'm just tired." Mitchell replied

Fletcher nodded "Mind if I barrow your clippers?"

"No, just clean 'em after you're done. Are Meghan and Emma alright?" Mitchell asked

"Yeah they're alright. Meghan is getting her stiches taken out." Fletcher paused as he took Mitchell's clippers and started trimming his hair. Mitchell nodded. Fletcher decided to change the subject. "A couple of FNGs showed up today and Six wants me to give them a tour and get her an AAR (After Action Report) tonight."

Mitchell chuckled "No sleep for the weary huh?"

"Nope, not like I was going to able to in the first place" Fletcher shot a grin

"Well I'm going to see Tina and probably hit the sack."

Fletcher nodded as he trimmed his hair back to the way it was before he was deployed. He trimmed his facial hair back to the stubble he normally keeps it at. Mitchell made his way to Tina's dorm. He noticed her door was slightly cracked open. He slowly and quietly pushed it open. She was sitting up on her bed with her back against the headboard. Her legs out stretched and crossed at the ankle. She was focused on her book more than anything. Her brow furrowed ever so slightly, she flexed her toes as she read. She was wearing her black t shirt and flannel pajama pants. Mitchell smiled as he leaned on the door frame watching her read.

"Hey" Mitchell spoke softly

Tina looked at the door quickly, she smiled and motioned for him to come in the room. She marked her place in her book and set it off to the side. Mitchell sat down by her feet.

"I'm glad to see your back." Her smile grew

"I am too, I figured that you would want to see me before I went to bed." He looked at her

"Yes, I did want to see you." Was all that she replied with

Mitchell could tell she was tired "You seem tired, were you apart of the spin up today?"

"Yeah, we didn't really even need to be there. There were only ten Masks at the building, local Special Forces could have dealt with them." She spoke with annoyance

"Only ten? That's odd" Mitchell commented

"That what I thought, but that's above my paygrade" She smiled "How was Bolivia?" she asked

"Terrible I have had deployments in the sandbox that I enjoyed more than that."

They smiled at each other. Both felt tired, Tina kind of liked Mitchell's beard although she wasn't entirely sure if she wanted him to keep it. She poked his thigh with her toes.

"Are you shaving your beard off?" She asked curiously

"Yeah, I was getting ready to. I don't like having facial hair."

"How about you leave it on and I'll decide if I like it or not" She smirked

Mitchell chuckled "Ok"

"Do you wanna stay here for a little bit before you go back to you go back to your dorm?"

"Yeah I'll stay for a bit" Mitchell moved so he was sitting next to Tina

Fletcher had just finished showering. He was wearing jeans, tennis shoes, and a pixel multi-cam t shirt. He met up with Erik (Maverick) and Morowa (Clash). He shook hands with them both.

"I'm Harding Fletcher and I'll be showing you two around."

"Well well well the Ghost. I assume Inferno is here as well." Erik smirked

"Yeah he's here Thorn. I'm actually surprised that you took the offer to join the team" Fletcher commented

"I could say the same to you." Erik replied

"You two know each other?" Morowa asked

"By story, this our first time meeting in person." Erik explained

Morowa nodded. Fletcher walked them around Hereford. They eventually got to the armory after covering the rest of the base. Erik's cage was right next to Mitchell's and Fletcher's. While Morowa's was next to the SAS cages. Fletcher nodded to the pair before leaving them to themselves. He continued on back to his dorm so he could get his laptop for the AAR. He passed Lera on the way to his room.

"Hey Lera can I speak to for a minute?" he asked

She stopped to talk to him "Yeah what do you need?"

His face started to glow a soft red "I understand that Meghan's birthday was on the twenty first of last month and I was wondering what all she likes or what she would want as a birthday gift."

Lera started to smile and she started to laugh.

"Come on now don't laugh at me" Fletcher spoke unamused

Lera shook her head still laughing

"If you tell me about Meghan, I can tell you what Alex thinks of you" Fletcher smiled

She stopped laughing as her interest was piqued. "Ok you first"

"Alex really likes you and I think he is going to ask you on a date" Fletcher spoke

She smirked and shook her head "I already knew that, but snice I'm nice I'll tell you about Meghan. She is into retro tech like older cameras. She has been trying to find one for a while now. Specifically a Canon F-1 with a 35 millimeter lens."

"Hmm, thank you I appreciate it. I have got to get an AAR to six so I'll see you around." Fletcher smiled and nodded before walking off.

He got to his room and grabbed his laptop before heading back down to the armory. He turned his laptop on and started typing up his AAR. He also disassembled his weapons so he could clean them. He also laid he phone out so he look for that camera. He also got into Meghan's cage so he could clean her weapons. He finally sat down in his cage and started his work for the night. Tina was still in her dorm with Mitchell. She was laying on her side watching TV. She had the volume way down, it was just loud enough for them to hear. She was quietly watching the show and she felt an arm wrap around her waist. She looked back to see Mitchell sleeping. She smiled softly and shut off her TV. She turned so she was facing Mitchell, she took her blanket and pulled it over them. She softly kissed him, softly ran her fingers through his hair she eventually fell asleep with her hand in his hair. The team was back in their military home and they were more than happy to be back.


	25. Chapter 25: Rest and Relaxation

**A/N: Hello everyone. So the community has figured out what's in Smoke's canisters it's arsa cyclopentadiene or Arsole. Now Smoke is going to kill us all in our sleep so the best of luck to all of you on surviving the night. Jokes aside the next few chapters will be at a slower pace, there will be some action in this set but they will all be building to the next plot point and there is an MW2 Easter egg in this chapter. I want to thank GrimGravy for beta reading this chapter for me. Please don't be afraid to leave a review or PM me. Enjoy!**

 _ **Chapter 25: Rest and Relaxation**_

 **August 2, 2018**

 **Location Unknown Time Unknown**

The base was filled to brim with the White Masks, too many to count. Every cell from around the world was pulled back. Taylor had gathered his regional leaders and cell commanders in his office. His office was relatively nice it was large with a few guns on the walls. He had a long mahogany desk he had a few pictures from his time in the military and his stints under cover in the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and ISIS forces. His leaders stepped into the room and the leaders closer to the top of the hierarchy took seats at the desk. The cell leaders stood behind their regional commanders all of them had their masks off.

"Alright Taylor why did you bring us out here?" The Asian leader asked the rest of the regional leaders looked to the man for an answer

"As you know I have had you all conserving your resources and your men. Except for the South American teams. Well our friends that was once the SBC have given us T-72 tanks and lots of money."

"What good does a tank do if we have nowhere to use it?" The North American leader criticized

"Notice I said tanksss plural, I have an insider on the NYC city planner's office and they told me that in October there is a G20 meeting going down. I have had my personal team digging up intel on the city and on the UN building. I want to hit this these so called leader's where they least expect to be hit." Silence tightened the air in the room "A job like this requires precision and extensive planning. All of your ex-military engineers and drivers need to start working with these tanks. All of you have different boroughs to take care of they have been assigned. There are simulators that you all can use to train for those areas. I'm currently working with your administrators and logistic teams for infill. On the note of infill I'm working on getting us a couple of black hawks, I have teams in the sandbox digging up what choppers they can. I need all the pilots that you guys can muster. I need an American team to get one of the higher ups from Sikorsky and persuade them to give us a couple of choppers, their headquarters are in Statford Connecticut."

The leaders quietly listened, The American leader nodded. The European leader perked up. "What are the chances that Rainbow will be there?" she asked

"Very high, I have been told this is the annual meeting to discuss Team Rainbow's effectiveness. We can handle them in a numbers fight. They aren't our primary focus, we are here to eliminate or capture as many G20 leaders as we can." Taylor looked to the Asian leader "Have your Russian contacts hacked the DSM?"

"They are currently working on it, there is a JSOC unit comprised of a couple SAS members that are causing issues" the leader replied

"Will they have it done in time for the attack?" Taylor asked

"Yes, they should."

"Good, get to your men and start your training. We can't have a single fuck up. Briefing packages have already been sent out." Taylor nodded

The leaders and the cell commanders walked out of the office. The Mask leader leaned back in his chair. The next few months were going to be stressful. This was going to be the biggest attack the Masks had ever carried out. The Bartlett job was easy compared to this. He took a drink of his whiskey. He kicked his legs up on the desk. He looked at a picture on his desk, it was a picture of him receiving a silver star from his past CO. He hated that commander. He looked at the picture with disgust. He shook his head in anger as he continued to sip his whiskey.

 **0700 hours Hereford**

The sky was dark and grim in Hereford. The rain pattered against the windows and roof of the building. There was the occasional crack of thunder. The air was cool and crisp. Most of the operators were waking up and starting their day. Those who were awake were getting to know Morowa and Erik. Mitchell was still in Tina's dorm. His phone started to go off and playing "all my friends say" by Luke Bryan. It was vibrating as well. Not being all the way awake he grabbed his phone out of his pocket and shut off the alarm not realizing he was in someone else's bed or that Tina was with him. He shut off his alarm and he wiped his eyes, he finally realized that he was in bed with her. She looked at him with tired eyes and a smile.

"Morning" She continued to smile

"Morning, I didn't plan on sleeping here" Mitchell smiled with the same tiredness as Tina

"I know" She yawned with a smile

The love birds looked at each other in a morning haze. Mitchell was still tired even after a good nights rest. They couldn't help but just look at each other and take in each other features. They examined each other for a few minutes. She got lost in his gaze again, she looked into his eyes. She could see his pupils were dilated, her heart started to beat a little faster and her smile grew. Mitchell smiled he adored her smile it always made him happy to see her smile. Mitchell finally leaned in and they shared a kiss.

"We should probably get out of bed." Mitchell commented and yawned

Tina groaned and buried her head into his chest. He just smiled and stroked her hair softly. Neither of them really wanted to get out of bed. They laid there with him stroking her hair for a few minutes.

"Today would be a good day to curl up with a good book, to binge watch tv, or even curl up with your significant other" she smiled at him

He chuckled "today would be perfect for all of those things" he kissed her head

She groaned again and she pushed herself up off of his chest and she sat up and stretched her arms above her head softly arching her back. Mitchell smiled and he grabbed Tina's sides and he pulled her back into the bed tickling her. She immediately started squirming and laughing under her boyfriend's assault. She tried grabbing his hands and telling him to stop. Of course he didn't stop, he just smiled as he watched her laugh and squirm under his dancing fingers. She loved this, she stopped fighting and let him get it out of his system and so she could find a way to get him to stop. She felt him lighten up and she was able to break free of his grasp and she pinned his arms above his head and she was straddling him. Her cheeks were red, she softly panted as she held her lover down, and a massive smile was on her face. Mitchell just smiled back up at her. She leaned in and they shared another kiss.

"You are so mean" she playfully stated

His smile grew "Sorry I saw an opportunity and I just had to take it."

She shook her head at him, she felt something hard pressing against her thigh. She smirked and reached down, she put her palm over his friend and she wrapped her fingers around the tip and she applied pressure while messaging the underside. It twitched wildly in her hand, through his sweat pants. She loved his reaction. His breath hitched, he arched his back wanting more. A soft moan escaped his lips. She gave a wolfish grin as she watched him writhe under her touch. She stopped with an evil grin on her face. He turned red and softly panted.

"Sorry I saw an opportunity and I had to take it" She mocked him

He just smiled and they kissed again. They both finally decided to get out of bed. They held hands as they walked through the halls towards the mess hall. Everyone was in there including the Grim Sky ops. Most of the team was sitting with their respective units. Some were with other units. Such as Adrian with the SAS. Mike was talking with Jordan and Eliza. Jack and Yumiko were cozied up at their own table. Mitchell and Tina went through and got their omelets. Mitchell had cheddar cheese, peppers and some diced tomatoes on his. Tina had the same, they went over to where Sebastian was. He smiled as the two took seats at the table.

"Good morning"

"Morning Seb" Tina replied

Mitchell softly nodded and took a bite out of omelet.

"Are you happy to be back Mitch?" Seb asked

"Yeah, Bolivia was a shit hole. You would have liked it" Mitchell commented

Seb shook his head as he took a sip out of his orange juice. "I like your beard I think you should grow it out more"

"Well you are going to have to ask her what she thinks of it, it's out of my hands." Mitchell replied

He looked to Tina "Are you going to let him keep his beard or are you going make him shave it off?"

Tina looked to Mitchell with a smile who returned with a smile as well "I don't know yet, I haven't done enough testing to determine if I like it or not"

Seb chuckled softly, Erik had walked into the room, and he scanned the room for a seat. He recognized Mitchell and he walked over and took a seat next to Sebastian. He captured the attention of the operators at the table.

"You are Erik right?" Sebastian asked

"Yeah, I'm Erik Thorn it's nice to meet you" He and Seb shook hands

"Wait a minute, you're the guy that was MIA for two years right?" Mitchell asked

"I'm going to leave that to your imagination, you must be Inferno" Erik looked to Mitchell

"Yeah I'm him, my real name is Mitchell." They shook hands

Tina smiled at Erik "I'm Tina Tsang, do you know Mitchell?"

"This is the first time we have actually met, I have only heard stories of him and Ghost running around in the sandbox." Erik replied

Tina nodded "Well, welcome to Rainbow."

"Thank you" Erik smiled

"So Erik what do you think of this place so far?" Seb asked

"It's nice, it's not Kabul though."

"You like being in the shit?" Mitchell asked

"I more like the culture and the people, it's awesome there. I actually kind of miss it." Erik smirked

Mitchell shook his head in disbelief and took another bite of his omelet.

"What really surprises me is all of the couples on this team, I really thought Six would've had a no fraternization policy" Erik commented as he looked around the room

Seb softly chuckled as Mitchell and Tina both started to turn red. "Who all are couples from your eyes Thorn?" Seb asked and playing dumb just to see how perceptive Erik was.

"Well that red head and Jordan I think is his name. The Japanese woman and baldy. These two right in front of us" He smiled as he pointed his fingers to the couples

Mitchell and Tina blushed. Seb just smiled "how can you tell?" Sebastian asked

"Body language, how they're speaking, and their eyes. Like with Tina every time she looks at Mitchell her eyes dilate and with him well, look at that smile on his face. It's a dead giveaway." Erik explained

"You set us up didn't you Seb" Tina spoke with playful aggression

"Of course I did, I like to pick on you two as often as I can" Seb just smiled

Mike walked over to the table and he stood at the head of the table on Erik's side. "I'm Mike Baker SAS. At 1200 hours we'll get you into the simulators and see how well you do." Mike patted Erik's shoulder before walking off.

Erik could tell there was some bad air between Mitchell and Mike. He looked to Mitchell. "What's going on between you and him?"

"He just doesn't trust me and Fletcher. I have my doubts he will trust you especially since you were MIA for two years." Mitchell spoke with annoyance

"Why wouldn't he trust you guys?" Erik asked

"He's just a cynical and stubborn old man."

"Thanks for the tip. I'll see you guys around, I have to finish setting up my cage. It was nice to meet you" Erik got up and walked away

"He seems like a nice guy." Tina commented as she finished her omelet

Sebastian nodded in agreement. "He's going to be a major asset, he is a good operator from what I have heard." Mitchell commented

Mitchell looked to Tina "I've got to go clean my guns and some of my equipment, do you want to come with me?" he asked

She thought for a minute "Yeah I'll go" She smiled

The two went to Mitchell's cage to clean up his M4 and kit. Erik was in there setting up his cage. Fletcher ended up pulling an all-nighter, he was tired but he still had one more objective for the day. He grabbed a black turtle neck pull over jacket, a camo ball cap and his aviators. He was still wearing his outfit from last night. He carried a note in his hand and he walked to Meghan's room and slid his note under the door. He looked at his phone mentally noting the address of the pawn shop. Monika was walking down the hall, she was wearing her kick boxing outfit (her elite skin) looked at him curiously.

"You look like shit" she commented

"Kind of feel like it too" He replied

She softly smirked at his comment "vhere are you headed?"

"That's none of your business" He smirked and yawned

"You're going to get that camera for her aren't you?" She smiled at him

"Lera fucking told didn't she" A tinge of aggravation penetrated his voice

Monika chuckled "She told me, yes, but I'm not telling anyone. You like her don't you?"

"As a friend yeah" he lied

She shook her head with a smile "you're a bad liar" She kept her smile and walked off

He shook his head and he walked out passed the gates of the base. He flagged down his Uber who was taking him to the shop. He was going to be in the car for at least an hour. He made himself as comfortable as he could.

Mark was in the workshop cleaning and toying with his jammers, Emma was at her table next to Mark. The two were always good friends, even though Mute wasn't the most socially adept person he could still have a joke or two. Emma liked that he was quiet when she was doing maintenance on her drone. He enjoyed observing her work with her drone. Sometimes she would get on his nerves. They always would pick on each other about their tech and how well they maintained their tech. Needless to say they were good friends. She looked over at him and smirked.

"Building another jammer for me to destroy Marky?" she teased

"I told you not to call me that" he looked at her annoyed

She just smiled and went back to her drone. Her drone was in pieces all over her table. Mark looked at her drone noting all of dust and dirt that covered the components of her drone.

"Did you not clean your drone while you were down there?" Mark asked

"I didn't have time, so bitch to me about how important it is to clean my tech in the field" She looked at him with a threatening stare trying to warn him

He just smiled "It's important to take care of your tech when working in the field, one failure on your tech can cause your team to fail the mission."

Emma threw a small screw driver at Mark. It hit his arm and he just chuckled as she shook her head. He went back to his jammers after handing the screw driver back to her. Emma took her cleaning agent and she wiped the wires and smaller pieces with delicacy and care. The room was quiet again.

"SON OF A BITCH!" Jordan shouted from the chemical room "FUCK!"

Both Emma and Mark looked at each other unfazed by the Texan's outburst.

"How much do you wanna bet that he burnt himself again?" Emma asked

"He probably did or he fucked his charge up." Mark commented

The two watched the connector door sure enough Jordan came out of the room and grabbed a bunch of gauze that was on his table and he started to wrap his hand. He shook his head as he wrapped his hand. Emma bit her lip to keep for laughing at him. Mark smirked.

"When are you going to learn how to make your charges without burning yourself?"

"Shut up Mark, damn it that one got me good." Jordan snapped

Both Emma and Mark laughed at Jordan who flew the bird at the two that observed him. He walked back into the room to finish what he was doing. Both of the younger tech geniuses went back to working on their gadgets. Morowa came into the room with Elena. The two were discussing the shield and some of the issue that were plaguing the shield. Elena was listening carefully to Morowa's input. Elena spotted her partner in crime.

"Hey Emma come here I need help with the shield." She motioned for her to join them

"Ok" Emma stood up and grimaced as she softly clutched her wound and walked over to the other two.

Mark watched the three go to Elena's table he went back to his Jammer. He was curious as to why Emma was hurting. He shook the thought out of his head. Emma made it over to Elena's table.

"What's up Elena?" Emma asked

"Wonder woman here broke the prototype of the shield on the first time deploying it" Elena chuckled

Morowa held a neutral face as she looked at the two. Emma smirked.

"It sounds like the deployment disk needs to be reinforced a little bit more." Emma commented

"The grip needs to be shortened as well my hand isn't as big as Gilles's." Morowa spoke

"To do that I'm going to need a payment of some sort" Elena smirked

"How much?" the shield user asked

"A smile" Elena kept her own smirk

"You're kidding right? I will pay you money. Why would you want to see my smile anyway?" Morowa asked

"I'm not kidding and ever since you have been here I have not seen you smile" Elena and Emma smiled and looked at the riot officer

Morowa forced a smile and turned to the engineers that were putting her shield together, she was greeted with Emma taking a picture of her smiling. Morowa immediately quit smiling at the two. Elena chuckled, Emma followed suit. Morowa was unimpressed and was unamused.

"Can we get back to working on the shield?" she asked

"Yes" Elena got her last few chuckles out

 **1130 hours**

Meghan had just woke up for the first time today. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. She looked at her alarm clock and she groaned softly. She sat up and raked her fingers through her hair, she continued and stood up. Stretching her legs and arms, she changed into sweat pants and a t shirt. She walked into her half bath and she brushed her hair out. She still felt tired she brushed her teeth and washed her face. She noticed a note just on the inside of her door. She picked it up and opened it.

" _Hey, I went ahead and cleaned your guns and cleaned up the rest of your kit. I figured you needed the sleep or at least more time to relax. I will be out for a little while, I will be back later today. I hope you slept well." –H.B.F_

She smiled softly at the note and shook her head. She finally grabbed her Nike sandals and walked out the door. She felt good knowing that she only had to repair her fatigues and go for a swim if she wanted. She was walking to the mess hall to get a snack before getting to work on her gear. Craig was making his way to the gym for PT.

"Wow, are you just now getting up for the day?" Craig commented with a smile

"Yes Craig I'm just getting up" Meghan replied with slight annoyance

"That's a first, generally your one of the first ones up" Craig continued

"Well you would sleep in too if you got back from a deployment" Meghan looked back at him

"I guess I would. I heard that you were wounded is that true?" Craig asked as he came up alongside of Meghan

"Yeah I was, the guy shot Emma and the bullet went through her and the bullet fragmented and stopped in me." Meghan looked at Craig as they walked

Craig nodded "How did it feel to be shot for the first time?" He asked

"Odd, it burned followed by soreness and numbness all over my body. I honestly can't describe it."

"Hmm, I guess you got lucky with the fact that your crush was there to patch you up" He teased and smiled

Meghan smirked ever so slightly "He's not my crush"

"Oh I see, boyfriend right?" He continued

She sighed "No we are just good friends" She assured with a lie

"Your red cheeks say otherwise" A smug smile was on his face

She felt her face and her cheeks felt warm and more blood rushed to her face. He just laughed at his collogue. She smacked his arm

"Shut up" she replied

Craig just smiled as he walked to the gym, Meghan went to the mess hall. Lera, Monika, and Ela were at a table together catching an early lunch. Meghan joined them, they all greeted her happily.

"How was your vacation in Bolivia?" Ela asked

"Shitty" Meghan took a bite out of her sandwich

"It couldn't have been all bad seeing as you were with your man crush" Lera smiled

Meghan fought to keep from blushing again "What do you mean?" she asked playing dumb

"Don't play dumb with us sweetie" Monika smiled

"Maybe it wasn't all bad, but there was no time to do anything or get to know each other better. We were kind of busy with the cartel and White Masks." Meghan carried on

"I saw that Fletcher left a note or somezhing for you before he left" Monika added

"Yeah he just said that he cleaned my guns and some of my kit. He also said that he was going out for whatever reason." Meghan replied

Lera smiled and shook her head. Ela looked at the Russian with a confused look and she raised her eyebrow. "You'll figure it out later" Lera whispered which only confused Ela more.

"Have you met any of the newbies?" Ela asked

"No I seriously just woke up a few minutes ago. Where do they hail from?" Meghan asked

"One is Delta Force the other is from the MPS." Ela continued

Meghan nodded as she bit into her sandwich. There was a few minutes of silence as they ate Meghan finished her sandwich and stood up from the table. "Well I'm going to go fix up my fatigues and go for a swim. I'll see you guys around" Meghan walked away

Ela looked at Lera "What were you smiling about earlier?" Ela asked

"Oh, Fletcher is getting Meghan that camera that she has been chasing for a while now."

Ela nodded "Hm" was that she replied with

 **1200 hours Hereford**

Six had called a small staff meeting with everyone. The operators that were in Bolivia weren't required to be there as Harry told six to give them time to relax and adjust. He also said that he would get the memo to them. Six had reluctantly agreed with Harry. Everyone was in the briefing room. Mitchell and Tina were in the back silently listening.

"As you all know I hired two more operators to our cause. I have created another specialized team within our ranks. The Grim Sky Urban Tactical Response Team. This team will mainly be used in response to riots, undercover assignments, asset evacuation and protection. Erik "Maverick" Thorn and Morowa "Clash" Evans are going to be the two primary operators of this unit. Those of you with experience in these fields will operate with unit from time to time. Erik and Morowa could you up and introduce yourselves." Six stepped away from the podium

Erik was the first one up to the podium he was wearing his black jacket and jeans. ""I'm Erik Thorn a former Delta operator. I served a lot of time Kabul and Afghanistan. I have done many operations undercover and getting HVT extractions. Before someone else asks, yes I do know of Fletcher and Mitchell. However this is the first time we have met in person. Any other questions?"

"It's said that you disappeared for two years in Kabul, why did you disappear?" Grace asked

"I don't know what you are talking about" He smirked

Most were a little baffled by his response. "Well did you disappear?" Seamus asked

"Maybe I did maybe I didn't" Erik continued "Anyway thank you for the warm welcome" Erik smirked and walked off from the podium.

Morowa came up to the podium "I'm Morowa Evans former MPS riot officer. I have been a part of many protection operations including G8 and G20 meetings. I have made over 274 arrests throughout my career. I have also spent time as a Detective Constable. Any questions?" She kept her presentation short

Not one person had real question for the officer a few were actually intimidated by officer. Morowa sat back down. Six reassumed the podium.

"Now we are going to begin training right now. Mike will be over seeing the simulations. Dismissed." Six ended her meeting

With that the operators got up and left the room and they went to the simulations to break in the new ops. The first attacking line up was Thatcher, Maverick, Thermite, Hibanna, and IQ. They would have brought Twitch in had she been there.

 **1300 hours Hereford**

Jordan and Eliza had just got done running simulations with Erik and the rest of the team. They went back to Eliza's room. Her room was rather clean, the walls were a burgundy red. She had the Israeli flag draped on the wall. She had a sofa in her room. There were a few pictures scattered about. Most of the pictures were of her and Jordan. There were a small amount that were of her time in the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) and one with her savta. She had a small 35" TV in there as well. Jordan was wearing a black Sabbath t shirt with jeans, instead of his boots he was wearing a pair of tennis shoes. Eliza was wearing a grey FBI SWAT t shirt, jeans and her boots. They both took off their footwear. They both took a seat on the sofa and they snuggled up with each other. Eliza noticed the fresh gauze on Jordan's hand, she grabbed his wrist and she looked at the gauze and she looked at him.

"You need to start wearing thicker gloves than those latex ones that you wear when you are making your charges." She spoke with some annoyance.

"With those gloves I don't have the flexibility like I do with the latex ones." He replied

"Well you should wear them and stop burning your hands. Or do I need to staple those gloves your hands." She smiled

He returned the smiled "You wouldn't like that, because you would miss feeling my hands all over you"

She just smiled as she ran her fingers over the gauze on Jordan's hands. "Does it hurt?"

"No but a kiss would make it better" He gave a faked pained expression

"Oh you poor thing" She spoke in an over sympathetic voice

She kissed his mortally wounded hand. The couple just laughed and she laid her head on his shoulder. They sat quietly, listen to the patter of the rain on the window in the room. Jordan snaked his arm around her holding her close. They were happy just listening to the rain. She looked up to him and pulled him down for a kiss. He could tell something was bothering her as she wasn't talking a whole lot.

"Are you alright? You're awfully quiet" he asked

"Yeah, just thinking about home and my savta." She replied

"You miss her?" he asked

She nodded "yeah, she died about this time a few years ago. She might have been a hardass but she always had your best interests in mind." She smiled "She always encouraged me to fight for my dreams and she is one of the reasons that I stayed with the IDF and for me to join the FBI." She smiled at her lover

He just smiled and he hugged her tightly "It sounds like she was one hell of a woman."

"That she was" Eliza just smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I still remember when I graduated from demolitions school. She had a friend of mine take a picture of us. She was so happy. It kind of annoyed me to be honest" She smiled

"Before she died I had that same picture put on a pendant. You should have seen the look on her face, she was so thrilled to see it. I told her that I would take it America so that I could always remember where I came from and who gave me the confidence to go through school and the military." Eliza just smiled as a river of memories came flooding back to her

"She would be very proud of you" He kissed the top of her head

Eliza kept her smile. They sat in silence again as the rain continued to play its tune on the windows. Jordan ran his fingers through her long red hair. A big smile worked its way onto his face.

"Is there anything you wanted to do this evening Liz?" he asked

She looked at him with annoyance, if there was anything that she hated more than Elena it was being called Liz, Lizzy, or any variation of that name. "Don't call me that, and no there isn't really anything I want to do tonight."

"Why don't you want to do anything Lizzy?" he teased with a smile

She could tell by his smile that he was teasing. "You know I hate being called Liz. Now stop calling me that." She was slightly aggravated by him calling her that name but she continued to play his little game

"Tell me why I should stop Liz" He continued

"Because you might be punished" she replied

"I'm so scared Liz" sarcasm seeped through his voice and his teasing smile remained

She 'had enough' and she tackled him. He through her off of him and she landed on the floor with a soft thud. He quickly followed her down and the two began to playfully fight. They rolled around on the floor laughing and pinning each other over and over again. Jordan 'won' most of the fights. Eliza won the final round and she had Jordan on the floor with her straddling him and his hands at her waist. They looked into each other's eyes for a minute and they kissed.

"I love you" She smiled "But I swear to god if you call me Liz again I will beat the ever living crap out of you and I mean it" She had a serious tone in her voice and she was wagging her finger in Jordan's face.

He nodded "I love you, too. I only call you that to get you riled up. I know you don't like it" He smiled and he pulled her down for another kiss.

The couple laid on the floor in each other arms, the sound of rain filled their ears again. They were comfy. He ran his hands down her back softly scratching her. She rested her head against his chest, eliciting a soft moan showing appreciation for him scratching her back. He smiled and took his other hand to her ass and squeezed. She smiled at him and softly swatted his hand away from her ass.

"Not now, later" was all that she said

She put her head back on his chest and he started scratching her back again. He kissed her head again, he looked at her and smiled as he took in her beauty. He could never get enough of her red hair. He took his free hand and ran it through her hair. They laid on the floor holding each other with smiles.

 **1430 hours**

Fletcher had returned, he walked past the front desk of the base with the box. He smiled, he went to his dorm and set the rather big box down on the floor. He took his hat off and shook it to get some of the water out of it, he set his hat down on his desk. He grabbed his phone.

" _Hey are you awake?"_ he sent the text to Meghan

Meghan was in the pool she was doing her cool down. She heard her phone go off and she swam to the edge of the pool and she put her arms up on the concrete that surrounded the pool. She grabbed her phone and she read the text.

" _Yeah, I'm just finishing up here in the pool. What do you need?"_ She replied

" _Nothing I just need to see you, it's not urgent I'll meet you at your dorm when you're ready."_ He replied

" _Ok, it's going to be around thirty minutes before I can meet you, I have to take a shower to get the chlorine out of my hair. I also have to finish my cool down. See you in a bit."_ She replied for the final time

She resumed with her cool down. _"I wonder what he wants"_ she asked herself. She finished her final laps. She pulled herself out of the pool. Water rushed off her body as she got out, she dried herself off before hitting the showers. Sure enough thirty minutes later she was in her dorm, she had a pair of her Navy sweats and a Navy hoodie. She took her towel and softly padded her hair getting the last of the moister out. Her dorm had soft grey walls, she had pictures everywhere. They covered all the way from her college years with old girlfriends to her deployments and her time in Green team (the team before getting on a DEVGRU team and becoming a tier one operator). She had a lot of family pictures as well from her third or fourth cousins to the immediate family. Her desk was covered in files and the equipment for her cameras, the desk was a mess compared to the rest of the room. In the corner of her room she had her fatigues hung up ready to go at a moment's notice her boots sat on the floor beneath the uniform. Her bed had navy blue sheets and a grey blanket on it. She heard a knock on the door.

"Come in" She replied

Fletcher walked in the door with a smile, he was still wearing the pixel camo t shirt from the night before and the same jeans. He had bags under his eyes. Her brow furrowed when she saw him carrying the box.

"Why does it look like you didn't sleep at all? What's with the box?" She asked

"I didn't have a chance to sleep, Six wanted an AAR and for me to show the new people around. I also needed to clean up my kit. What's in the box, is a combination of a birthday gift and an apology gift." He smiled

She looked at him slightly confused "Fletch you need your sleep, you need to quit putting it off. You can put others at risk doing that. You know better." She chastised him "How did you know when my birthday was? What do you mean an apology gift?" she asked

He continued to smile at her "I know Meg I was just busy doing things for Six. A little bird told me about your birthday. I wanted to apologize for you getting shot on my watch when I could have done something to keep that from happening." He set the box down in front of Meghan

She continued to look at him "Fletch you couldn't have known I was going to get shot and I don't blame you for it. It's not your fault we were surrounded there was nothing you could've done. Plus you patched me up afterward. I won't accept an apology for something that isn't your fault. This is just a birthday gift." She assured

"Yeah well I feel as if I could do something so I'm sorry that you got shot." He smiled still

She shook her head and dropped the subject. She looked at the box for a minute trying to figure out what was in it. "Go ahead open it" he encouraged. She tore the tape off the box and she opened it. She took out some of the bubble wrap that blocked her view. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she saw the old box that held her new camera. She pulled the box out. She was completely speechless. She didn't know what to say. She took the camera out of the box just to admire it. It was in mint condition, she pulled out all of the attachments that went to the camera. She was in utter shock. He just smiled.

"H..How did you know?" She asked

His smile turned into a toothy grin "Another little bird told"

"But where did you get it from?" She asked

"I bought it at a pawnshop in Birmingham. You're welcome, by the way." His grin remained

He sat down next to her with a smile, she looked like a kid on Christmas morning and getting the toy they asked for. She had been looking for this model of camera for nearly three years. She was putting the different attachments on the device. She looked at Fletcher with a huge smile, she leaned in and hugged him very tightly. Her arms felt like a Boa constrictor squeezing its prey. He grunted and he tugged at her arms.

"What's wrong?" she asked

"Can't..breathe" He squeezed out

Meghan loosened her grip and he gasped for air "You don't know your own strength do you?" he half asked and commented. She giggled and let go of him and she put some batteries in the camera.

"Would you like to take the first picture with me?" She asked with joy

"Yes I will" he replied

She handed the camera to him seeing as his arms were longer. He held the camera out and up, the two smiled. Meghan held up the piece sign by her chest. He wrapped his one arm around her shoulders pulling her close. He took the picture and handed the camera back to her. She looked at him.

"Now you go and get some sleep before I choke you out" She continued to smile

"Ok" he replied with a small smirk

He walked out of her room and back to his dorm. She couldn't help but look at the camera and smiled. Her mind wandered to the dream she had after she passed out in Bolivia. She thought about the selfie and the daughters she had in the dream. It felt weird to her to even think that she had a couple of daughters. She laid back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. She never thought of herself as a mom, not that she was opposed to having kids it never crossed her mind. She had spent the past decade working in the field and neutralizing threats, she rarely had time for herself or to spend it with who she wanted. Her mind continued to poke and prod at the subject. Fletcher crossed her mind and she thought about him being with her at her home. She loved the idea of it just being the two of them cozied up and relaxing on a rainy day. The thought of her daughters from her dream popped right back into her head. She smiled at the thought of maybe having a little family. The next thought was keeping them safe and she started thinking about the Masks. She mentally groaned at herself for ruining the thoughts of retirement or vacation even. Just the word vacation got her mind to wander again. She immediately thought of a secluded beach in the Caribbean. She closed her eyes and she could hear the ocean, she could almost taste the salty waters, she could see the waves shimmering in the sunlight of a low sun. She looked out and she could see Fletcher sitting next to her propped up on his arms with his legs stretched out. He was wearing a pair of black trunks. She looked down at herself to see that she was wearing a sea foam green two piece. She looked at Fletcher again he smiled at her and he pulled her down to him, he wrapped his arm around her as they watched the sun descend into the blue waters. This was nice, she smiled and she leaned in to kiss him but something was off. She felt the scenery change and their clothing changed. He was in his combat wears as was she. She looked around, they were in a burning city. The sun was setting behind the skyscrapers, their street was littered with parked and damaged cars. Small arms fire echoed through the streets. They shared a piece of cover that was sedan. He was covered in dust and blood. He put a fresh mag into his MDR and barely peeked his head over the car.

"CONTACT RIGHT!" He shouted

He peeked out fired four or five shots before getting behind cover. She herself peeked out on the opposite side and she didn't see anything but the sound of bullets striking the car filled her ears. He looked at her he noticed her MPX wasn't there in her arms. He pulled his side arm and gave it to her.

"USE THIS!" he shouted over the gun fire

She nodded and she peeked out again, she put rounds down range. A bullet made a loud ping as Fletcher almost fell on his face, he felt the dent on the back of his helmet.

"God damn it, mother fuck!" he shouted. He grabbed his radio "Angel 4-3 we need immediate evac, the HVT is not secure. We are going to be overrun, if you don't get you asses down here!"

Meghan had no clue as to what was going on she kept looking out from her side of the car not seeing a single soul on her side of the street. She put shots down range to make it look like she was doing something. She looked around and she didn't see an HVT anywhere. She shook her head in confusion. The radio they were using was filled with life again. "Rain…Et…Five…Mi..s" the signal was choppy static filled in after every word and cutting the sentence short.

"Roger!" Fletcher replied

Meghan was clueless, she didn't know where they were, what they were doing, or why it seemed so chaotic. She watched Fletcher peek out from behind the car again. A bullet rang out and struck the left side of his chest. There was a large blood splatter, he dropped his rifle, and fell on his back. She quickly grabbed him and pulled him over to her. She could hear the chopper coming in. She applied pressure to his wound. His eyes looked hazy, his breathing was fairly shallow. He held onto her wrist as he looked up at her, she reached into one of his pouches for his trauma kit. She found nuts and screws surrounded by packing peanuts. _"What the fuck? He normally keeps his trauma kit there" she spoke to herself in confusion._ The chopper finally came into view and before she could see who was on the chopper. She felt him disappear, her hands were covered in soot. She looked down to see a sorched outline of where he was lying on the ground. _"What the hell is going on?" She asked herself._ She woke up from her dream. Her eyes fluttered and she slowly sat up, she grabbed her phone out of her sweat shirt pocket and looked at the time. It was midnight. She had fallen asleep with her wandering mind. She couldn't figure out why she had that dream. She didn't want to go see or bother Harry about some dream, but she did want to tell someone about it. She put the camera that she held in her hands away, she walked to the infirmary. She walked into the doctor's office. There were only a few lights on in the room.

"Gustave are you in here?" Meghan asked quietly

The doctor heard the call and walked out to the lobby of his office. He was a little worried that Meghan was there so late at night. He had on a GIGN t shirt and a pair of cargo shorts. The shirt honestly looked as if it was straining on his giant body.

"Is everything ok?" he asked, his voice full of concern

"I don't know it's probably nothing, I just had weird dream." She felt embarrassed

"Take a seat in my office. I might not be a psychiatrist but I can take a shot at it. " He showed some concern

They walked into his personal office, He sat at his desk with a caring smile that he normally had. "Tell me about this dream"

Meghan explained the dream. Gustave grabbed a few of his tools, he ran a light across her eyes looking for any oddities. He did a few other smaller examinations while she spoke. "Have you ever had any dreams like this before?" He asked

"Not like that, I did have one after I was shot in Bolivia. In that one me and Fletch were married and we had a couple of daughters. I don't know where we lived but we had a nice house." Meghan continued

Gustave had a soft smile as he listened to her. "It doesn't sound like TBI or PTSD. You're not showing any symptoms. So I'd say that your mind is still adjusting to be out of combat. You could still be stressed as well. Your brain is having issues keeping your personal life and work separated from the way it sounds."

"I don't feel stressed" Meghan replied

"Well maybe your brain is. I suggest you take a day for yourself and relax. Keep an eye on dreams and if they get to the point where they keep you from sleeping come see me or Harry." He continued

Meghan gave a huff of amusement "I won't know what to do with myself"

Gustave chuckled heartily "Well that sounds terrible." Sarcasm filled his voice "Go out some where if you have to, go look at older cameras, go for a walk, or even a relaxing swim. You can do whatever you want just keep that in mind."

"I'll try Gustave" She replied

"Now go get some sleep. If you need anything you know where to find me" Gustave smiled

"Thanks Gustave, I appreciate it. Don't forget to get some sleep yourself, we don't need a third insomniac." She teased

"I get enough sleep in early morning hours, I have to hit the gym now or else I won't get a chance to do it during the day" Gustave replied

"Ok, Gus. I'll see you later."

Meghan smiled and walked out of the room and back to her dorm. Along the way she ran into Erik.

"You must one of the new guys, right?" She asked

"Yeah, Erik Thorn" They shook hands

"I'm Meghan Castellano." She looked at him a minute "You must be the other Delta member"

"Yes, I am. It's nice to meet the ever so legendary Meghan Castellano." Erik smirked

She softly shook her head, He smirked "You would probably be the leading authority on this, but just how good is this team? I have done of the simulations with them and they're good there. Obliviously that experience doesn't translate into the field."

"Best team I have ever been on, everyone here has your back and is a top tier operator. Rainbow was the team to clean up Bartlett. I wasn't on the team then but they certain live up to the hype. I know that adore Afghanistan and Kabul, but what do you think of this place?" She replied

Erik nodded "Good, It's a really nice base. It's not bad just not my preferred setting" He smirked

She looked at the tattoo on his arm and took in all of the details on it. She understood that liked Afghanistan but not so much that he got a tattoo of the country on his arm. "Well I'll let you get some sleep then. It was nice to meet you Erik" She smiled

"It was nice to meet you as well." Erik smiled back and went back to whatever it was he was doing.

She continued to her dorm and got into her pajamas, she crawled into bed. She looked at the ceiling where she had a picture of her family. She pulled the blanket over her body and she found Erik to be friendly and seemed to sort of fit in. She thought about what Gustave said and she genuinely had no idea what she would do, she is so used to someone giving her orders and telling where to go. It kind of stressed her out then Fletch crossed her mind yet again. She thought about having him take her out on a date. She smiled at the picture and the thought before falling asleep.


	26. Chapter 26: Turning the Wheels

**A/N: Hello everyone, I'm sorry this chapter took so long to produce. I meant to have released last month, I got really busy in the last month to finish the chapter because of a family trip and the fourth of July. I hope I won't take as long to get 27 released. These chapters will be skipping more time between them roughly around a week I might make one or two two week jumps just so I don't have to long of a series for the chapters building up for the attack. I can't thank you guys and gals enough for reading this story, I really enjoy writing for all you. On the 25 of this month this story will turn one year old. I can't believe this story is already that old, it feels like I just started telling this story yesterday. Again thank you so very much for reading this story. Thank you to GrimGravy for beta reading for me I greatly appreciate his work. I hope you all enjoy the chapter, don't be afraid to leave a review, PM me, or let me know if I made a mistake. Enjoy and have a wonderful day!**

 _ **Chapter 26: Turning the Wheels**_

 **August 6, 2018**

 **Location Unknown Time Unknown**

Teams were pushing in from all directions, the walls were painted red. Things were going smoothly. They arrived at a massive complex with concrete barriers and armored cars surrounding it. They moved in slowly and cautiously. The teams covered different entry points and they stacked up on the doors. Simultaneously they breached into the building, they pushed through the halls taking down their targets as they moved. They got into a huge meeting room they breached in from the back, sides, and the front of the room. However there was an opposing force of three men.

"Blow the charges!" one of the three shouted

One man took the detonator and pulled on the trigger. There was a large explosion of red paint a whole team went down. The sound of an M249 filled the room. The aggressors were dropping like flies, within minutes the assault had failed. Those who 'died' got up off the ground the attackers looked less than pleased with their assault. They walked into the meeting room where the cell commanders were not happy with the performance.

"You're attacks are sloppy if Rainbow was here they would have mopped the floor with you. You aren't taking the time to collect the information on how the defenses are set up. In the last run you all couldn't react to a counter attack after the breach into the building. You grunts need to loosen up, be fluid and improvise. You all have seen the raids and protection that Rainbow can give they are fluid, quick, and they can improvise. You all need those skills. We will run these drills until you can be ready for anything that Rainbow might throw at you. Team 3 your moving to slow the longer you make the other teams wait for you to get set up is more time that the enemy has time to set up defenses. Team 1 you have great efficiency but you aren't checking all of your corners. That's a good way to get killed. Teams 2 and 4 you both doing great could probably pick up the pace just by a tiny bit. Team 5 you guys need to hit the range your accuracy is terrible you also need to react quicker to possible threats."

The soldiers looked tired, they had been running attacks on the building all day. They pushed themselves to the edge of the envelop every attack. They listened to their commander taking in what was being said. The three 'defenders' were called to Taylor's office. The three took their seats in front of their boss.

"How are they doing?" Taylor asked

"Shitty but they have shown some improvement since we started." John commented

"Good, think they will be ready?" Taylor asked

"They should be, just keep them running drills." John continued

"How about jamming teams?" Taylor looked to Donny

"They're doing alright their issue is speed by the time jammers are up the other teams should have building cleared giving us no advantage. I'm working with them to get them to move quicker and set up the jammers faster. They will be ready in the next few weeks." Donny replied

"What about the support teams?" Taylor looked to Keegan

"They're a little rough but their accuracy is improving. Their intel gathering is much better, they're more attuned to the support weapons. They're getting used to moving with the tanks, their progress is good. I'm still working out the sniper hides and gun nests. However we're going to need more duffle bags for a concealed look." Keegan replied and requested

"It'll be done. I have request for you three." Taylor had his usual serious look

The three looked at the man "I need you three to go convince the vice president of Sikorsky and have him donate 15 Mil spec UH-60s to us. I don't care how you do it just get it done."

The three nodded in sync "We'll head out tonight" John assured

"Good and don't let anyone see you this is critical without these choppers we will fail." Taylor emphasized

The three nodded and left the office. Taylor watched his computer as the groups started another simulation. His plan was coming together. He poured himself another glass of whiskey. He took a sip and he pulled out his silver star from his desk and he ran his thumb across the star in its box. Beneath the star was a picture of his little brother. He looked at the image with guilt and regret he took another sip of his whiskey. He looked his little brother in the eyes.

"We'll get 'em I promise" He spoke with anger

 **0800 hours Hereford**

Six had called another staff meeting everyone was in the briefing room. Tina let Mitchell shave his beard off the two were sitting next to each other as usual. Meghan finally got a good night's rest. However she was still having some odd dreams, Gustave continued to pester her about taking a personal day. She had also gotten back into her work out routine, Lera had convinced her not to go so hard in the paint seeing as she is still recovering. Fletcher had managed to grab some sleep but it wasn't much. All of the ops had gotten time in the simulators with Erik and Morowa. Six had taken the podium, Harry was also present he was sitting in the front row with some of the elder operators.

"I received word from the UN that they will be meeting in New York on the 12th of October. They have asked us to pull security for the meeting, We will be there. Secret Service and the FBI will be heads of security. The protection staff of the diplomats will be assisting where they can however they will be more focused on protecting their assets. For the next two months we will be working on setting up our security. Glazkov and Fletcher I need you two to work out where you are going to set up your hides. Mike, Gilles, Morowa, and Jordan you all will be working on setting up patrols and security inside of the UN building. The operators called upon nodded. We will run simulations to prepare for any possible attack or scenario. We cannot have any mistakes here." Six cut right to the point

"What about threat analysis, who is taking care of that?" Miles asked

"CIA, FBI, NSA, and DHS are taking care of that. They are taking every tip very seriously. They will be providing updates to us if there is that needs to be taken down." Six replied to Miles's question

Miles nodded at the response. Fletcher rolled his eyes at the response. The team wasn't exactly thrilled that they had to pull security but it needed to be done.

"Any other concerns or questions?" Six asked

"What does the QRF look like?" Fletcher asked

"We have the Marines and Rangers on standby." Six replied

Fletcher sat back in his chair taking in the answer.

"I'm guessing NYPD are going to be the street security." Morowa chimed in

"Yes, they will be walking foot patrols while the meeting is going on. We will also have some ground elements walking a beat."

Six waited a minute for another question, no question was asked. "You all are dismissed." Six spoke stepping away from the podium.

The entire team stood up and left the room some were upset with the fact that they had to pull security detail. They all went back to their daily activities. Fletcher was heading to the workshop, Meghan followed close behind. She picked up her pace ever so slightly and she nudged his right arm with her elbow, she smiled softly. He looked at her and smiled.

"What are you doing?" She asked

"You tell me" He replied

She squinted her eyes at him before looking back down the hall "So Gustave is pestering me about taking a personal day and I was thinking that maybe you and I could on a date" She looked at him again surprisingly without blushing

He smiled softly "Sounds good to me, but you're going to have to drive I don't have my UK driver's license yet."

"That's fine. I'll text you the time after I get done with my work out" She replied with a smile and walked away

He watched her and he shook his head softly as she walked away. Meghan got a text and she looked at her phone _"come to my office please."_ It was Six. Meghan sighed and she made her way to Six's office. She got to the office and knocked on the door.

"Come in"

Meghan stepped in the door and took a seat at Six's desk. Six was reading personnel files among other things. Meghan didn't say anything and waited for Six to speak.

"Meghan I need all of the intel you managed to gather in Bolivia. I should have asked you sooner but Harry said you needed to time to adjust to being out of combat." Six looked at the SEAL

"Ma'am most of our intel was passed off to the CIA." Meghan felt uncomfortable she knew that would upset Six.

Six looked up from the file and at Meghan she sighed. "Who had the intel? Do you remember anything about it?" Six asked

"Karen Bowman was the CIA agent down there. I have some pictures of what the Masks had." Meghan pulled out her phone and she got to the pictures of the maps and other pieces of intel. She handed her phone to Six.

"What are these maps of?" Six asked

"New York, most of these are of a Metro system, sewer system and other important city infrastructure." Meghan replied as calmly as she could.

"What is this writing?" Six asked

"Uh we think its code. There was another operator from the US there who explained that the map was drawn back when New York was under quarantine and that this is White Mask code on the map." Meghan felt tense and nervous, she couldn't figure out why.

"Where did this operator hail from?" Six asked

"We don't actually know the only thing we do know is that his unit is a part of DHS" Meghan replied

Six nodded "Email me everything you have. I'll dig up what I can out of the CIA."

"Yes ma'am" Meghan replied quickly

"And Meghan"

"Yes?"

"Relax, it's my fault for not telling you to bring back all of the intel you found." There was a soft smile Six's face

Meghan gave a somewhat nervous laugh "Yes ma'am" with that she walked out of the room and took a huge breath to calm her nerves. She took her phone and sent all of the images she had to Six. She went back to her dorm and gathered her swim suit and she went to the pool for a swim.

 **1200 hours Hereford**

Mike, Gilles, Morowa, and Jordan were in the briefing room Siu was also there. They were setting up the ground teams.

"Let's start with UN building most of our man power should be there." Mike commented as he rolled out a map of the building.

"Gilles and Morowa this is more of your territory what would you suggest?" Mike looked to shield users

"Well two man ground teams patrolling the halls should deter most of the threats that could come up from civilians or small threats." Gilles gave his thoughts

"I suggest most of the defense operators should be here in the building" Morwa chimed in

"We need teams who work well together such as Liu and James or Adriano and Aria." Mike commented

The rest nodded in agreement, Jordan shook his head not because he disagreed, but because of the situation.

"What's a matter Jordan?" Siu asked

"What are the chances that the Masks will actually attack the UN? I mean this would be very uncharacteristic and stupid of them to do this." Jordan explained

"It's unlikely that they will attack but we can't rule it out. No one thought that there would be a terrorist attack on Bartlett and they did it. Remember Jordan they aren't like terrorists in the sandbox. These guys are coordinated and can move they also have access to a large amount of resources." Mike replied

Jordan nodded in response "I guess so, just, I don't know it seems odd that we're prepping for an attack that is most likely not going to happen."

"If there is anything that I have learned over the years is that don't count on a terrorist group to stick to their regular behaviors. Especially these fuckers, if they know what they are doing." Mike added

* * *

The group nodded in agreement, they continued to plan out their patrols and teams. Lera and Alex were in the Rec room they had the room to themselves they were sharing a bottle of Vodka. The two were flirting and talking about the motherland.

"So how did you come up with the idea of your nanobots lyubovnik?" (lover in Russian) Alex asked

She softly hit his arm with a smile "I didn't come up with the nanobots I only improved the delivery method and changed the chemicals that they disperse."

"Hmm" He hummed "Why do you use your nanobots when we aren't going into a hot zone

"What do you mean?" She asked

"The other day I saw you take a vile of your nanobots and you weren't going into a hot zone." He looked at her for an answer

She grew very nervous, she started rubbing her left forearm subconsciously "You saw that huh?" her voice was quiet

"Yeah why were you taking them?" he asked

She looked around the room to make sure that no one else was in ear shot. Her face was filled with nervousness and anxiety. Her heart was pounding she thought her heart would jump out of her chest.

"Are you alright?" He asked

"Let's get a more private place." She spoke softly her voice filled with nerves

Alex gave her a slightly confused look but he followed her anyway. They went to her dorm and he took a seat at the foot of the bed. He looked at her with concern.

"Lera just tell me what's going on. Are you addicted to your drugs?" He asked taking her hand into his

"No, it's not that it's much worse." Her face burned red and she started sweating

"Just tell me what's wrong Lera" He continued to press her for information

She nodded and took a breath trying to calm her nerves "Alex this is a secret no one else but Gustave knows this. I have a disease, no it's not cancer. The disease that I have is called neuropathy. It basically makes me numb like I won't be able to feel anything. I created my nanobots to fight the disease and I'll never be cured of it I can only slow it. Eventually I will be completely numb because of it. I have to take daily treatments to make sure that I'm not consumed by the disease. This disease can end my operating career." She felt bad for not telling him sooner

He fell silent letting her words settle their way into his mind. His heart ached for her, he wanted to help her in every way possible. However he knew there was nothing he could do other than offer emotional support. He pulled her down and sat her down next to him. He wrapped his massive arm around her and held her close. She was still anxious not knowing how he would react "Why didn't you tell me this before?" he asked

"I just don't want to be pitied or people to think that I can't do my job. I don't need people worrying about me or telling me what I can and can't do." She looked to him "Alex no one else knows about this, please keep it under wraps." She had a look of guilt

He looked at her and gave her a huge Russian smile "I won't tell anyone, I wish you would have told me sooner. I understand why you didn't tell me. Look you don't have to fight this disease alone." He gave a reassuring smile and hugged her tight

She smiled softly "So the lord Tachanka will cure me"

He chuckled "Of course I will" He spoke with a smile

* * *

The two stayed in the room for a good while just enjoying each other's company. While the pair shared a new closeness, another pair of operators were discussing their plans for New York.

Fletcher and Timur were in the briefing room using the projector to look at a map of New York. Neither were excited about being used as a security force. They were looking over the entire city for their vantage points.

"Typical of the fucking UN to call on us to pull security for their fucking meeting not like that any other force could do this." Fletcher spoke with some anger

Timur chuckled "You really hate politics don't you?"

"Yeah they're all a bunch of fucking liars that only care about their damn salaries" Fletcher continued

Timur continued to chuckle and pointed to a building "I'll set up in this building." It was the Met life building. "I should be able to provide cover for the UN building and all along 44th street and some of Lexington Avenue."

Fletcher nodded "I'll set up here in the Manhattan palace, I'll be able to see everything coming down 1st avenue and down 36th avenue and it'll set up a crossfire in front of the UN building."

"I don't know about you but this whole thing feels weird, we have never pulled security for a UN meeting before." Glaz commented

"Well let's hope nothing goes wrong. Cause if it does were probably going to lose funding. I'm probably going to swap out my Ballista for a Mark 12 or Mark 11, I might even go with an M110." Fletcher replied

"I agree, I really don't want anything to go wrong. Why would you swap out your Ballista?" Timur asked

"Come on Tim you should know why." Fletcher fired back "I'm going to need something that can provide suppressive fire, a big magazine, and accuracy at long range. If the Masks attack they will attack in a large force and it's going to be a target rich environment. A bolt action doesn't do to well in areas like that."

"Makes sense, we're going to need people to cover our asses. I'll probably take Maxim with me. I'm guessing Mitchell will be with you?" Tim added

"I don't know yet, I might have Meghan be up there with me. Don't get me wrong Mitchell and I are good friends and he knows what he's doing. However if shit goes wrong, he's going to be better at front end of things being able to give support to our ground patrols." Fletcher looked at Timur

Tim nodded "Fair enough, I'll go ahead and tell Mike where we are going to be setting up. Seeing as he doesn't trust you and he won't believe you or maybe forcefully change your spot." The Russian chuckled again

Fletcher shook his head "Thanks for biting the bullet on that one"

"Not a problem." Tim stood up and patted Fletcher's shoulder and shut off the projector.

* * *

Meghan had stepped into Gustave's office, she waited patiently out in the small waiting room. After Gustave finished with his equipment he stepped to the front of his office, he smiled seeing Meghan.

"What can I do for you today miss Castellano?"

Meghan returned the smile "Nothing, I wanted to let you know I'm doing as you told and I'm going out for the evening."

Gustave's interest spiked "Where are you going on this fine evening?"

"I think I'm going to hit a bar maybe get a little lit" (lit is another term for drunk) She continued to smile at the doctor

"Make sure you have a designated driver and don't binge drink either." Gustave spoke in a stern and caring tone

"Gus, I'm not some kid drinking for the first time." She softly scolded

"I know, I know just a habit." He smiled "Have fun"

"I will" she replied with a smile before leaving the office

 **1700 hours Hereford**

Meghan walked the halls of the base in the dorms section. She walked up the flight of stairs that took her to the second floor. She made her way to Fletcher's dorm. She was dressed in jeans Nike runners, and a black t shirt with the SEAL trident decaled on the left side by her chest. She had her Navy sweatshirt draped over her shoulder. She got to his door and gave it a few knocks.

"Come in" he replied

She slowly opened the door and walked in with a smile. He was sitting at his desk, He turned around and smiled at her.

"Are you ready?" She asked

"Yeah where are we going?" He asked

"That's for me to know and for you to find out" she replied

He just smiled and got out of his chair. He was in his typical clothing, he was wearing Jeans, one of his many Army decaled shirts and tennis shoes. He grabbed his leather jacket and the two left base for the pub. Meghan was the one driving seeing as Fletcher didn't have his UK driver's license. It was a good thirty minutes to the pub. They got to the pub and the parking lot was slowly filling up as people got off work. They sat in the car for a minute.

"If you start feeling uncomfortable in here, let me know and we'll leave" she spoke in a caring tone

He nodded, they walked in and there were a few odd looks from the locals. The music was fairly loud they were playing some classic rock and a few euro tunes. There was idle talk throughout the bar making the scene very loud. The two went to the bar and ordered their drinks. They both got a couple beers. They looked for a table. The tables were full, however there were pool tables that weren't being used. Fletcher motioned for the table. Meghan motioned to the pool table and they went over to the table and they set their beers at either end.

"I'm surprised you didn't choose something a little more romantic" Fletcher smiled grabbing a cue for her and one for himself

"I didn't want to put any pressure to on either of us and I needed to blow off some steam." Meghan smirked "why don't we play a drinking game"

He returned the smirk "What game did you have in mind?"

"I have an idea, why don't we play a game? Each ball pocketed we can ask one question and the other takes one drink" She continued to smirk

"I like that, who is breaking?" He asked

She pointed to him. A smile crawled on to his face. One thing he didn't tell her is that he played pool for almost three hours every day from middle school through high school in the winter, he also played a good bit on his old base with Boyer. He was quite the player when it came to pool. He hit the cue ball flying into the rest of the balls. He sunk the two ball, he was solids and she was stripes.

"Is this a bad time to tell you that I practiced playing pool almost every day since middle school?" Fletcher had an evil smile on his face

She hung her head with a smile "Shit" she took a drink

"So why did you choose the SEALs out of all the other options you had available?" He asked lining up a shot on the three ball.

"Well after I broke my arm in an accident I had to give up swimming as you know. I wanted to represent my country in some grand fashion and there was a demand for intel officers so I chose the Navy and my dad wouldn't let me join an infantry unit. When the SEALs said they were accepting female applicants I jumped on the opportunity whether my parents liked it or not and well one thing lead to another and here I am. I actually thought about joining the Army or the Marines but their special operation groups didn't really appeal to me anyway." She replied to his question

He fired the cue ball down range to the three ball, the cue ball knocked the three ball into the side pocket and the cue ball spun backwards knocking the four ball into the other side pocket. She took two drinks shaking her head.

"How did you meet Craig? What DEVGRU team did you serve on?" He asked his two question as he lined up his shot on the one ball

"I met Craig in BUDS, he was one of the few who wasn't trying to hit on me and trying to get into my pants, he was encouraging me to keep going and prove my instructors that I could become a SEAL. Anyway we spent a few years on the same green team. After we earned tier one operator status we split away into different teams. I served on Alpha team." Meghan replied watching him

"I couldn't even imagine trying to go through hell week as woman. Let's see that would have been Mcgillis as your team leader." He shook his head and sunk the one ball into a corner pocket.

"Hell Week was terrible I have never been degraded so hard in my life nor had I ever had so many people tell me I couldn't do something. It also allowed the instructors to make the other guys feel inferior to me." She chuckled softly "However I'm tougher for it." She smiled. "Mcgillis was the team leader, I'm guessing you guys did a couple of ops together?" She asked taking another drink

"Yeah we raised some hell together, we only did two ops together but it was enough to know him."

He decided to take his questions to a more personal side. "What kind of music do you like?" He asked

She took another drink "It varies I generally listen rap or more modern rock. I guess I'm going to have to learn to like country music and classic rock a little more"

"Yeah definitely because country and classic rock is what really captures my attention. You know this game isn't fun, I'm not getting drunk at all." Fletcher replied with a smile

She giggled at his comment "Well quit trying to win" she replied

He kept his smile and lined up his shot on the six ball, he fired the cue ball sinking the ball into a side pocket. "What were your past boyfriends like?" He asked

She smiled taking another drink of her beer. "Um, most seemed to be intimidated by me and the relationships generally didn't last real long. The guys were mainly nice they didn't cheat aside from a few who did. Other than that they just couldn't live with the military life style."

"Well at least they treated you with respect." He replied with his smile. He set his sights on the seven ball, He fired the cue ball down range, and the seven ball sank down into a corner pocket. She shook her head and took a drink. "Have you ever lived on your own?" He asked

"I did for a little bit during college, but after I started getting put on deployments I sold my apartment as there was no point in keeping a place that I was only spending a few months in at most and I moved back in with mom and dad." She smiled at him "Are you going to let me play?"

He smiled back "nope, eight ball in the side pocket." He called his shot and he fired the cue ball again knocking the eight ball into the side pocket. He chuckled "And that's game"

She shook her head taking yet another drink. "Douche" she playfully commented

He continued to chuckle. "Do you want to play another game of this?" He asked with a smile

"No, you'll have me hammered before nine." She gave a playful jab "let's find a table" She smiled as they put the balls back into formation for the next set of players

They found a table and they took it. He smiled taking his first drink for the night. "Why did you join the Army?" she asked starting her questioning. She rested her head on her hand looking at him with all of her attention.

"Honestly I don't really know. After me and Mitchell spent that year travelling around the US we decided to start our careers. I personally could have been a mechanic but I guess I wanted to put some miles on my soul before I settled down. The Army was the best way to do that and I also wanted to serve my country. I didn't expect to turn the military into a career. I was going to stay in for one contract and then leave but the terrorism got worse and our contracts got longer" He smiled

She took another drink of her beer which was almost empty she nodded as she listened to him speak. His voice was soothing on her ears it was a good offset to the other ambient noises in the bar, he took another drink. "How tough was it train for the unit?" she asked

He let a huff of amusement loose "it was terrible, take your hell week but make it stretch over a few months."

"That bad huh?" she asked looking at him

"Yeah that bad." He replied

She looked at him with a smile she looked into his eyes she could see that he was still nervous. She couldn't quite figure out if it was because they were in a public place or if it was because she was learning more about him and getting closer to him. She took her left hand and softly ran it on his left forearm. She put her hand in his she messaged the back of his hand with her thumb. It was a silent message telling him to calm down and that he was safe. She could see a small calm softly wash over his eyes. Her smile grew as they both took a drink.

"So what were your past relationships like?" she asked him

He took another drink as he thought "I don't remember, it's been so long since my last relationship. Hell I might as well be a virgin at this point" He smiled

She giggled at his comment "You seriously don't remember? Like not even a name?"

"Nope not even name" He kept a small smile as he took another drink.

She smiled at him "Have you ever lived on your own?"

"Nope not until I was in the service, Me and Mitch were basically on our own in our trip but other than that I haven't been. After I joined up there was no reason for me to buy a house or an apartment. Similar reasons as to why you sold your apartment." He continued to drink

She nodded in agreement "Other than building cars and fixing watches what do you do in your spare time? I just don't see you all that much around the base." She asked

"Um, I'm either writing in my journal or working on my gadget. I could also be working out. It varies from day to day. I assume that's going to change or involve someone else a little more" He smiled at her

"Some of it will but not all of it." She kept her smile

There was a slightly awkward silence between the two. They didn't really know what to say to each other. They sat back looking at each other unsure of what to say. Meghan softly smiled.

"Have thought about what would do after you retire from this and settle down?" She asked

"I haven't thought about that in a long time, I used to think about starting my own mechanics shop and repair, restore, and build cars. Those thoughts died out a long time ago. I don't know what I'll do now. What about you?" He asked taking a drink

"Maybe open photography shop or become a coach for a swim team. Maybe just tour the world in peace not having to worry about being shot at or have a CO breathing down my neck. Maybe start a family. I haven't figured it all out yet." She smiled at him

"That sounds nice, I wouldn't mind travelling around hitting all of the land marks that we could. I would actually enjoy that a lot." Fletcher smiled

She gave a huge smile. Both had light buzz they weren't legally drunk but they weren't sober neither. They continued to talk about a variety of subjects while continuing to drink for a good while. There was a loud crash behind Fletcher. He stood up quickly and immediately turned thinking it was threat. When it was actually a drunken man knocking a tray out of a waitress's hands. He was breathing was heavy, Meghan quickly got up and put her hands on his shoulders guiding him back to his seat. He still wasn't calm, Meghan sat down across from him and she took one of his hands into hers.

"Look into my eyes and breathe." She spoke in a soothing tone

He looked into her green eyes, he could see the calming embrace in her eyes. She slowed her own breathing so that he would follow suit. He slowed his breathing. She could see him calm down again and he looked to the table in shame.

"I think we should go." He commented quietly

Meghan gave her warming smile and nodded "Ok we'll go"

The car ride back was fairly silent. Fletcher felt terrible. He thought he ruined the night for not being able to control himself. They got back to the base they stopped at Meghan's dorm.

"I'm sorry that I ruined tonight." Fletcher tried to apologize

Meghan softly shook her head "Fletch you didn't ruin anything, I had a lot fun it was nice just to be able to talk and not have someone looming over our shoulders. I know you can't control that and no one got hurt so it's ok."

He felt a little better but he still felt bad he nodded softly. "I did enjoy the night as well, it was nice to be out for once."

She smiled and gave him a hug which he returned. "You should take some time to wind down." She continued to smile.

"I will, I still have Craig's watch to finish up" He smiled as they broke the hug

"See you later Fletch." She replied before going into her dorm

There was a heat building in heart and it made him smile. He couldn't have given anyone a good explanation of why he was feeling this way. He walked to his dorm with a slight pep in his step. There was a smile plastered on his face the whole way. The feeling was pure bliss, he got in his dorm and changed into his night ware and got in bed. He slowly passed out with a huge smile on his face.

 **1900 hours Hereford**

"Blackbeard, Capitao, Glaz, Pulse, Buck, and Vigil report to runway 6." The PA called across the base

The six operators grabbed their kits and got on the plane. Mike had a tablet out waiting for Six's briefing. The rest of the ops were finishing equipping their kits and stocking their mags. The tablet came to life Six appeared on the screen.

"Listen up!" Vicente shouted to the group

They all snapped to and payed close attention to the screen. "White Masks have taken control of a power plant outside of Montreal. They are threatening to destroy the plant and leave the entire city in the dark. If the plant is destroyed hundreds will perish, it is vital that you all use the most finesse you can muster. Capture anyone that you can. I'm sending you the blueprint of the plant. There might be engineers that have been taken hostage our ISR drone doesn't have full visibility of the plant due to cloud cover. Local authorities have tried negotiating with the Masks however that has yet to bear fruit. You are to neutralize the threat and secure the sight. Good luck and god speed." Six terminated her transmission and the blueprints filled the screen.

The team examined the blueprints taking note of all the hallways and offices that littered the main building. They were using some of the electronic drawing tools to map out their attack. Vicente was the team leader for this assignment.

"Timur post up outside on hill north west of the building sniff out all of the hostages you can. Craig you will be on point for the main assault Chul you'll be working support behind Craig watching his flank. Jack you will be in the rear, after we secure the first floor you will be gather from below Chul you will break off and support Jack. Seb you and I will be supporting Craig after the two break off, you will be our main breacher obviously. Watch your fire we don't want to hit a transformer and have it explode and kill everyone and leave the city in the dark." Vicente finished his spiel.

"Sounds good" Craig replied

It was a few more hours before the plane touched down in Montreal. A local police chopper gave them a ride out to the hot zone. The pilot set the chopper down softly on the makeshift landing zone. The team stepped out of the chopper and all of the local ERT (emergency response team) watched carefully as the Rainbow ops walked up to the plant with no fear. Glaz chambered a round into his OTS and jogged to the hill side. Blackbeard put his shield on as the rest stacked up on the SEAL. Capitao tossed a drone out and he took his time to scan every room and check every corner. He left his drone in the foreman's office where the hostages were.

"We have hostages on the second floor in the foreman's office. Push in. the room to your left will have three contacts. The room to your right will be clear" Capitao commanded

Blackbeard nodded and walked in the front door. He looked to the room to his left. Capitao readied a flashbang, Buck fired two blasts of his Skeleton key destroying the door hinges. The door fell down with a loud thud. The flashbang was launched into the room blinding the enemy. Blackbeard pushed into the room his SCAR bellowed at the Masks it was a quick exchange one bullet landed in the shield. The team continued to move through the first floor. Glaz was scanning the windows for any Mask that be curious as to what's outside the building. He looked to the foreman's office. There were a few Masks prepping their human shields.

"Cap I've got hostiles in the foreman's office trying to use the hostages as shields. Do I have permission to engage?" Glaz informed.

"Yes, engage hostiles unless it has a chance to harm a hostage." Capitao replied.

Glaz lined up a shot on one of the Masks and fired a single shot through the glass window. The mask fell to the floor leaving a large blood splatter all over the wall and on the hostages. Another Mask jumped out fright from the body. He looked out the window wondering where the shot came from. Glaz fired another round killing the second Mask. The two left in the room hid staying as far away from the window as they could. The primary team had cleared most of the first floor, they were clearing the meeting room. They broke off into two teams. Vigil and Blackbeard on one side with Capitao, Buck, and Pulse on the other. Blackbeard placed a breaching charge on the door of the room. Buck prepped his skeleton key for the breach. Pulse scanned the room.

"Two hostiles close range on our left, three on the right at the front of the room. One is at the center possibly on a mounted weapon facing towards the east side." Pulse informed his teammates

"On your call Vince." Buck said

"Breach in one…two…three Breach!" Capitao commanded

Blackbeard squeezed the detonator detonating the charge the door was turned into splinters. Buck shot down their door taking a Mask out in the process. Blackbeard was the first in he took the two on the left. Vigil followed him in and took one out on the right. Capitao fired his FAL taking out another. Pulse finished up with the final Mask. The group continued their push into the break room. No Mask was hiding in the room.

"Pulse, Vigil break off and sniff out any Masks that you can from down here. Just remember the hostages are in the foreman's office so watch your fire." Capitao commanded

The two operators broke off, the rest slowly proceeded up the stairs to the top floor. Pulse was moving quickly on the first floor with his scanner aimed to the ceiling trying to sniff out the terrorist. Vigil was trying to keep up with Pulse. Pulse walked into one of the offices and he found two hostiles in the grounds keeper's office.

"I've got two in the grounds keeper's office then it looks like the rest of the building is clear aside from the foreman's office." Pulse called out

"Copy we're moving." Capitao replied

The three upstairs moved quickly to the office that was called on. Buck yet again readied his shotgun. Blackbeard swapped his shields and loaded a fresh magazine into his SCAR. Capitao signaled for Buck to only open one hole and not the whole door. Capitao pulled his crossbow and loaded an asphyxiation dart. Buck fired one shot into the wall and Capitao quickly fired both darts into the room. The oxygen quickly drained from the room and the two Masks were quickly dispatched of. The team again moved to the foreman's office.

"The last two are on either side of the room Vigil and I will drive them into the line of sight of the window." Pulse spoke

He pointed to a spot in the floor for Vigil to shoot. The two fired through the floor the Masks ran infront of the window where Glaz dispatched the two with ease. Capitao was the first one in the office and the hostages were fine other than being bathed in blood of the Masks. The hostages were sent outside to the authorities. Capitao looked to Blackbeard.

"Is it just me or were there less Masks than usual?" Vicente asked

"I don't know, I wasn't really paying attention" Craig replied taking his helmet off and clipping it on the backside of his vest.

"I didn't see a difference in numbers but to me they didn't really seem to have a motive to be here." Seb commented

"What makes you say that?" Vicente asked

"Well they weren't nearly as aggressive and they didn't even try to kill the hostages, they also didn't have any demands. They are normally always threatening to kill the hostages unless they get what they want. I know they threatened to kill the power to the city, but most key infrastructure have backup generators so why take the plant in the first place?" Seb continued

"That's a good point" Craig replied

"That not for us to figure out right now photograph everything and send it to Six. I'll inform her that we couldn't take any of them alive." Vicente commanded switched his radio frequency to Six's "Six we are done here in Montreal, we couldn't take any of them alive regrettably we will be ready for evac 20 mikes" Vicente spoke

There was a sigh from Six "copy the plane is still at the airbase. RTB"

Jack and Chul were photographing everything. They were stepping over the corpses of the Masks. Chul stepped over a Mask. The Mask grabbed Chul's ankle, the Korean drew his K1A and put it at the Mask's head while escaping the terrorist's grip. The Mask groaned in pain he was holding his stomach blood coated the man's jacket.

"Pulse! Over here!" Chul shouted

Jack walked back into the meeting room and saw the Mask. He kneeled down at the Mask's side. "Can I trust that you won't attack me while giving you aid." Jack asked sternly and calmly.

The Mask nodded quickly without speaking a word. Jack started triage on the wounded man Chul kept his rifle trained on the Mask. He flipped on his radio "Capitao we have a live one down here."

"Roger, we are on our way down" Vicente replied

Vicente, Craig, and Sebastian all walked down to the meeting room to see Jack giving aid to the terrorist.

"Get the Mask off of his face it will help him breathe." Vicente commanded

Craig reached down and took the mask off of the terrorist revealing a late twenties early thirties male. He was clean shaven, he was tanned up very well. Vicente had called Timur to come to the building. Timur had made his way into the building to regroup with the rest of his team. When he got into the building the others had the terrorist in chair. Craig was still tending to the terrorist's wound. Jack looked the man in the eyes

"What's your name?" Jack asked

"You don't need my name." the terrorist replied

"Alright then, I'll call you John for now. Why did you join the Masks?"

"Why not? The whole package is good you would be surprised at how much that they give you." John replied, he let out a grunt from Craig working on his wound

"Are the Masks planning for anything big in the next few months?" Jack asked

"I'm not going to tell you anything t-hat" He grunted again from Craig slightly pulling on the edges of the wound.

"Well if don't tell us then we have no choice other than to kill you" Jack spoke in calm and serious tone

The terrorist chuckled then groaned in pain at Jack's statement "Don't make me laugh"

"John if you don't tell us what you know we will make your last hours very very painful" Jack continued

John bit his lip while considering if he really wanted to die a slow and painful death, He had a suicide pill but he quietly evaluated his options. He brought the pill down to his teeth but he paused and sighed.

"The Masks are gearing up for a massive attack some where they haven't told us where we are going or who we are taking out." John replied to Jack's question

"Why did they send you to take this power plant?" Sebastian asked

"They said it was critical infrastructure that we needed" John continued to answer their questions

"I think he's lying, he knows something, he's just not telling." Craig commented

"It's the truth you arrogant fuck" John replied

"He's telling us the truth." Jack commented "What do you know about the Masks? As in where they're based at and how many people do they have under their command?"

"They-" John had his head explode in mid-sentence, the Rainbow ops hit the deck

Glaz crawled his way to the door, he got behind cover he flipped his thermal sight down and looked out the nearby window. Not a soul was there. He let out a string of curses in Russian.

"We're clear" Glaz spoke with anger

"Damn it" Vicente spoke "Let's pack up and get out of here."

The team was very upset, they didn't speak the whole plane ride home. None of them expected the Masks to have a sniper to stay and kill anyone who threatened to spill vital information. Vicente was putting this in his AAR.

 **August 7, 2018**

 **0400 hours Statford, Connecticut**

Jester, Anubis, and Hades were moving through the suburbs of the city, the city was encased in darkness. They were fully kitted rifles and all. They were avoiding the street lights and the city sanitization crews and sticking to the shadows. The vice president of Sikorsky lived nearby his work. His family also lived there, they moved quickly. Hades looked at his wrist where he had the house number written.

"It should be the next house on the right" Hades noted

The others nodded and they got to the back door. To find it locked Hades looked to Jester.

"Donny you're up" Hades commanded

Jester got up to the door and pulled out his lock picking kit. "Thirty seconds" he worked with the lock and thirty seconds later the door creaked open slowly. Hades took point and they walked in the door and they moved slowly and carefully through the house. They found the stairwell, Anubis took point he was checking his corners. They came to the hallway where all the bedrooms were. Hades and Jester walked into the daughter's room she was seventeen. The VP's daughter was sneaking back into her room she didn't notice the door to her room was opened. Jester was quick and he grabbed her, he quickly hand gagged her. She screamed into his hand as he pulled her into the room. The girl flailed and smacked at Jester doing everything in her power to get free from his grasp.

"Shit" Hades whispered

Jester shoved her on the bed with her head cocked sideways so she could see him. She looked at him like a scared rabbit. Hades took some tape that he had with him taped her mouth shut. Jester cuffed her wrists behind her.

"You good?" Hades asked quietly

Jester replied with a simple thumb up as he held his rifle to the girl's head. Hades moved across the hall to Anubis. Hades tapped Anubis's shoulder signifying he was ready, they pushed into the son's room to find him sleeping like a log. Keegan quickly subdued the teen with zip ties and they also tape gagged him. They moved to the master bedroom. Their hearts were pounding in suspense they just had two more to go. They stacked up on the door both nodded at each other they swiftly moved in the room to find the VP and his wife sleeping. Hades subdued the wife and gagged her. She had a fearful look in her eye as she watched the soldiers subdue her husband. Anubis woke up the VP and put him on his knees, at the foot of the bed.

"Mr. Seth Rowe it's nice to see you. Before we start there are rules that you need to follow. If you call for help, your family dies. You scream your family dies. It's simple, can you keep yourself under control?" Hades spoke

Rowe nodded, Anubis took his gag off. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Jester bring them in here I want him to feel the gravity of this situation before we discuss our deal." Hades spoke into his radio

Jester came in the room shortly after, the daughter was trying get free of his grasp before he shoved her to the floor next to her mother. He brought the son in who was fighting even more. Jester was having some issues of keeping the son in his grasp. He finally shoved the son to the floor next to his sister. They all looked to strange men in the room. The mother was doing her best to keep her children calm without speaking. The hostages had tears coming out of their eyes. Both Jester and Anubis stood behind the man's children and wife, rifles at the ready.

"We are representatives of the White Mask organization, and we want your help with some equipment that we need. I think you know what we want" Hades continued

Seth thought for a minute "Helicopters?"

"Yes, we want fifteen mil spec MH-60 Black Hawks."

"I won't do it" Seth replied feeling bold

"Well that's a shame, I hope your children know how much you love them. Jester, start with the son." Hades looked over to the group

Jester nodded and he pulled out his sidearm and put the gun right up to the back of the boy's head. He started to sob as Jester racked his handgun, putting a bullet in the chamber. He slowly squeezed on the trigger. It travelled at a snail's pace slowly getting closer to killing the child. The boy looked to his father crying. The boy's sister and mother watched in fear.

"We don't killing children but we will if we have to…" Hades continued

The hammer on the pistol was about to drop "Stop, I'll do it" Seth spoke up

Jester holstered his sidearm. The boy leaned on his sister for comfort as they sobbed together. Seth felt guilt wash over him wondering what he had done.

"Now this is how it's going to work. You are going to go to work like nothing happened, you will have these chopper sent out immediately from the factory to these coordinates. If you tell anyone what happened here you and your family will die. My assistant who is an excellent shot will be following you and if you attempt anything at all that isn't a part of our deal he will kill you." Hades turned to the other three hostages "No one leaves this house until the order is filled. Anyone asks where you are, you tell them you are sick and they can't come and help. We will kill them if we have to. Me and Jester will stay here to ensure nothing happens. Do you understand?" Hades asked

They nodded meekly in return "Good now you can all come down stairs and tell anyone that you are meeting today that you have to cancel. Just so you know we are monitoring your texts and phone calls."

Jester and Anubis untied the family and took their gags off, they escorted the family downstairs. They set the family down at the kitchen table. The daughter was hugging her mother tightly and they held each other trying to comfort one another. The son was sitting at the table shaking his mother pulled him into the hug. Hades and Seth came down stairs and they sat at the table with the rest of the family.


	27. Chapter 27: Prep Phase

**A/N: Hello everyone, on the 25 of last month this story turned a year old and I can't believe it has already been one year since we started this journey. I honestly wasn't sure if this story would gain a following of more than 10 people. I can't thank you guys enough for reading this story, I hope that y'all are enjoying this story still. A huge shout out to GrimGravy, he is savior when it comes to beta reading. His work is greatly appreciated. Now this chapter is still focusing on the build up to New York. I also took a leap of faith and I put a SMUT scene at the end of this chapter, I personally think it's adequate but I feel it could be better. The next chapter will give more insight into the Masks and their leader. My college classes are starting up again on the 26th of this month so I'm sorry if I make you guys wait even longer for chapters to come out. I honestly can't wait for Ember Rise and having the ability to yeet myself through windows. Anyway enjoy this chapter and please don't be afraid to leave a review, message me, or point out a mistakes.**

 _ **Chapter 27: Prep Phase**_

 **August 13, 2018**

 **Location Unknown Time Unknown**

Taylor was speaking with the Asian cell leaders who were stationed by port cities. They stood around a table looking at a map of NYC, they were paying more attention to the ports of Hudson Yards and Kips Bay.

"If we take the ports then they have no choice other than to push further back into the city." One of the cell commanders noted

"Right, we are going to have our own freighters dock on these ports to help with infill and support. I'm going to need your men to procure three or four more cargo ships." Taylor looked to the commanders

"We can do that." Another commander commented

"Do it quietly, we don't need Rainbow knowing what we are up too. I don't care how you do it just do it quietly." Taylor made his statement very clear.

"We'll get it done, I'm guessing you are wanting some cruise missiles on these ships?" the first commander commented

"You got it contact me when you get your hands on these ships. Dismissed" Taylor waved his leaders away

Taylor walked back to his office, he took a seat at his desk and he looked at his security camera feed on his computer monitor. In the hangar he could see a batch of brand new UH-60s being landed and starting to get loaded up with ammunition and fuel. He smiled softly and sure enough his three favorite operators walked in the door. They all took a seat at his desk.

"Good job on getting those choppers, I need you guys get back to training the others. There is still a lot of room for improvement" Taylor spoke to his men as he turned to his computer and started working on a document.

"We'll get right to it, the family was rather calm about us being there. We had to threaten them a little but we got the job done." John smiled

Taylor silently nodded as he worked on his document. Donny and Keegan left the room John looked at a picture that was slightly turned in his direction. His brow furrowed and he turned the image to face him.

"Who is this?" John asked

"None of your business" Taylor replied with his eyes locked onto the screen in front of him.

John slightly squinted his eyes trying to read his employer. "Relative huh?"

"I said it was none of your business now leave and go train." Taylor delivered a threatening stare

John chuckled at the other man's stare, before leaving the office to go train his men on clearing the building. Taylor sighed and looked at the image. It was the last time him and his brother were in relative safety. Robert Korczac. He was dressed up in fatigues, like his brother. Taylor was wearing the standard issue US pixel multi cam, while Robert wore his khaki cargo pants with a black t shirt with the patch of his PMC's logo on his shoulder. Robert had piercing blue eyes with moderately long black hair and dirty blonde stubble. Taylor reminisced about him. Thoughts of sadness were trumped by anger when he remembered who was responsible for his brother's death. He angrily typed on his keyboard, the keys sounded as if they were going to fly off the keyboard.

As he worked on his shipping document the rest of the men under his command were starting to run their drills. In a little over a week they showed much more improvement compared to when they just started. Most of the Masks were starting to think more like operators and not like a grunt fresh out of basic. The cell commanders were quite happy with how their cells were preforming however they were not going to let up on their training at all they were going to continue to run drills eight hours a day with the scenarios constantly changing after each run. The units with the tanks were much better about maneuvering them in the city environment. They used the simulators to practice their formations in the city. Donny's Jamming teams were going with a clandestine approach, instead of trying to fight through the stock exchange they were going to disguise themselves as technicians and they were going to plant the jammer before anyone knew what was going on. Keegan's support teams were still adjusting to long guns and light machine guns. However they were going to fortify certain spots all over the city to provide support to their ground elements. While John did teach the Masks who were assaulting the main building how to clear it, his focus was split between the main assault and the covert entry teams. He showed them how to navigate the sewer and metro system for the surprise attack. He was one of the best instructors on the White Mask payroll. His knowledge on warfare was very deep and intricate he taught even the more veteran Masks on how to clear a building better than how they were taught previously. The Masks are becoming more deadly than they ever had been in the past.

 **0800 hours Hereford**

It was another rainy day at Hereford, our favorite operators had started running their own simulations to prepare for any possible attack that the Masks could throw at them. The team wasn't broken down into the squads that they need just yet and their defense needed some work in order to be perfect. Mike and a variety of other senior operators were still working on breaking up the teams. No one was thrilled about pulling security for the UN. However everyone was enjoying their time at base and not having to fight off the Masks every day. All of the ops enjoyed spending time with their loved ones, whether it was through a video call or in person. Fletcher and Meghan were in her dorm relaxing after an early morning workout. She was playing some Minecraft on her PS4 that Grace coaxed her into getting. She had a 35" TV sitting on an entertainment center. They were using her bed as a seat, he wasn't too interested in the game. He was never really interested in video games unless there was absolutely nothing else to do. The pair had been spending more time together and every so often they would work out together. She was wearing a tank top with black sweats. Fletch was wearing jeans with a dark grey t shirt.

"Have you told Mitchell yet?" She asked

"No I haven't but I need to, he will not be happy with my decision" He sighed

"I'm assuming that this would be the first time that he won't be your spotter?" she continued to question

"Yeah it will be, so I figure he will be pissed when I tell him." He replied

She looked at him and smiled "Mitchell's a big boy I'm sure he'll get over it quickly."

"I think I'm going to try and tell him about it today." He softly patted her thigh just above her knee, He softly squeezed just above her knee as he was about to get up

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her squirm a little, he looked at her a little concerned. "Don't do that, that…" She trailed off not wanting to say what that did to her

"Tell me why I shouldn't Meg" He gave a mischievous smile as he squeezed again

She bit her lip and spazed out again "because it…tickles" her face burned red as she tried to get away

He just smiled and didn't let her go and he kept squeezing her knee making her squirm and softly giggle. He chuckled as she squirmed under his grasp, she grabbed his wrist and tried pushing him off, but he was sapping her strength. She tried her hardest to push him off. He smiled and used his free hand to get her other knee, she couldn't do anything to stop him she was spazzing hard at this point. She was fighting to get away from his evil fingers. His smile only grew and he finally stopped. She was softly panting with a smile plastered on her face, she flinched every time he moved his hands. He just laughed every time she flinched. She put her legs up on the bed making sure he couldn't torture her anymore. He just smiled as he walked to the door.

"I'm going to the range, do you want to come?" He asked with a smile

"I might come down there later. I'm not sure yet." She smiled back

"Ok, I'll see you later" He walked out of the room

Fletch made his way down to the armory, the M110 that he asked for was sitting in his cage. He started to kit out his rifle, he put an 8x mil dot scope with variable zoom up to 12x. He also put a canted panoramic red dot sight. Mitchell was walking by and peeked into Fletcher's cage.

"Hey what are you doing?" Mitchell asked

"Kitting a rifle, I could use a hand zeroing it." Fletcher replied

"Yeah, I'll give you a hand." Mitchell added

Mitchell grabbed his binos and the two walked to the outdoor range. There was a lucky break in the rain. They took one of targets ranged at 600 yards. Fletcher picked up his rifle and loaded a fresh mag. He put his cross hairs on the chest of the target.

"I'm aiming for the chest." Fletcher informed his friend

"Got it" Mitchell replied and he looked at the target

Fletcher fired a round just to see how far off the round was. The bullet was about a foot off.

"You're a foot off the bullet is way too low." Mitchell commented

Fletcher put in an adjustment to the elevation. He fired two more rounds, the bullets were closer but still off.

"Six inches getting closer." Mitchell informed

He made a few more adjustments squeezed off another round it was closer to his intended target. Mitchell held up two fingers signifying two inches. Fletcher made a few more adjustments to his scope and put another round down range landing right on target. Fletcher continued to fire at the target just to work on his grouping with the new rifle.

"Hey Mitch can I talk to you about New York?" Fletcher asked between shots

"Yeah, what's up?"

"I was thinking that you should be walking beat during the meeting." Fletcher replied

"Why?" Mitchell asked

"In case something goes wrong. I think you would be of more use to the team on the ground." Fletcher explained

"I would be just as useful in the hide." Mitchell replied getting a little frustrated

"That may be, but what if the Masks pull a wild card and you're up top, huh? What if the ground team needs back up and there's no one there but you who can help?" Fletcher responded firing another round it was a mere inch off target.

Mitchell wasn't even paying attention to the shooting, he looked at Fletcher very confused "What's going on? Not once have you ever told me not to be your spotter. What's going through your head?"

"Mitch were on a team now that is on the same caliber of operating as us I'm not concerned about having some dumbass out of basic who's on his first tour. I trust this team they've eaten a lot of the same dirt as us and they are experienced. I'm going to have Meghan up there with me." Fletcher continued to fire down range

"Oh I see what this about, you're trying protect her." Mitchell spoke with aggravation

"What? No, Mitch. Think about your gear. Meghan needs to set-up somewhere she can have a bird's eye view of everything. She has her cameras, right? But your kit means you're more effective in the thick of things, not babysitting someone else." Fletcher continued with some agitation

"That's quite an excuse" Mitchell was very upset

"Really? You're going to throw a bitch fit over this? Grow up I'm not going to roll with you on every op. Especially when we need to be at our best to cover a bunch of assets. It's not a personal attack Mitch, so quit making it seem like one." Fletcher was looking at Mitchell he too was very aggravated "You're better than this, come on. You have good head on your shoulders, use it." Fletcher's tone was becoming more aggressive

"You and I both know together we are unstoppable, why are you trying break that up? Look I know Meghan needs to be in a nest to watch everyone around her, but dude together we have overcame a lot together, even with the odds stacked against us." Mitchell replied with aggression

Mitchell only used the word dude when he was frustrated. The two were locked in a stare down, both were waiting to see the other's move. The stare down lasted for a few minutes. Fletcher broke it off and he raised his hands signifying he was done.

"You know what? I'm not going to sit here and fight with you over this. I'll talk to you after you cool off." Fletcher grabbed his rifle and moved to another target

Mitchell shook his head and walked off, both needed time to cool off. Mitchell walked back into the base. Fletcher continued to work with his rifle getting the sights set to what he need it to be. As Mitchell was walking back into the base he lit up a cigarette, he took a long drag off the cancer stick.

 **1100 hours Hereford**

While the two brothers were cooling off the other ops were meandering around the base mingling and doing their daily tasks. Elena and Ryad were in the workshop, Ryad was having issues with his Eyenox, which he couldn't solve alone. Elena had the device hooked up to her laptop. These two maintained a friends with benefit relationship and Ryad was actually the one who wanted a more serious relationship. He liked Elena quite a bit and of course he found her attractive.

"I don't know what's up with it, the visor isn't showing the foot prints." He informed

Elena hummed as she looked through the various strings of code. "Maybe if you didn't use it to peep at all the señoras feet then you might not have this issue." She teased

He gave her an unimpressed look, she frequently made him the victim of her teases. She knew he had a fetish, despite the fact he never told her about it. She knew about it because if any of the women of Rainbow would wear open toed shoes his attention would always be split between their feet and face. She didn't want to say anything to anyone about it but she wanted to tease him in some way. So whenever he would visit her in her dorm she would always prop her bare feet up on her desk just to make him uncomfortable. She just smiled and looked back to the laptop.

"How long has it been acting up?" She asked

"It just started today." He replied

She continued to read through all of the code her brow furrowed as she couldn't see anything wrong with it. She looked to her companion "When was the last time you shut this off?"

"I don't know" He replied

She switched it off, she gave it a few seconds for it to reboot before turning it back on. The strings of code started filling the screen again. Everything appeared normal, she detached the headgear from the computer and gave it to him.

"Try it now" She told him

He strapped on the gadget and flipped the visor down, he could see her shoe print clear as day on the floor. He flipped the visor up and smiled at her. "It works, thank you"

He started to walk out of the room, she grabbed his arm "You know I would like a payment for helping you." She gave a sly smile

"What do you want?" he asked slightly confused

"I would like a massage" her smile only grew

"Ok? Odd request" He commented as he took his Eyenox device off.

"I meant a foot message" She had an evil yet teasing smile on her face

She had never seen him turn so red so quick. He swallowed hard as his cheeks turned to a rosy red. His heart was pounding "Are you sure that's what you want?" he asked

"Mhm" She nodded as her smile remained

"Right now?" He asked nervously

She nodded again "Only we'll do it in my dorm where it's comfortable."

She closed her laptop and started back to her dorm, he followed. He was quite nervous yet excited. They finally got to her dorm, she sat him on the bed before she climbed in herself. She took off her tennis shoes and socks before putting her feet in his lap. She wiggled her toes at him. He nervously and cautiously started to massage her. She let out a soft groan of approval. He continued to message. She smiled at him

"That feels nice" She commented "Why are you so nervous?"

"I'm not" he replied as he continued to give her a message his hands were trembling with nerves and excitement

"Then why are your hands shaking?" she asked with a smile and she wiggled her toes again

He didn't give a response as he continued to massage her feet. He was completely encapsulated by her lower extremities. His hands continued to softly tremble. Elena let out another soft moan.

"You don't have a fetish do you?" She asked trying to get him to fess up.

"n-no I don't" he responded nervously

"Then why are you hard?" She smiled

His heart only beat harder and his face burned a brighter red.

"It's ok if you have a fetish I promise to keep it as our little secret." She kept egging him on

He kept massaging her soles as he thought about a reply. It took him a couple of minutes to think of response "I only pass that information off to someone I'm dating and not just someone I'm sleeping with." He spoke in a somewhat soft tone as he continued to massage

She softly moaned again to assure him he was doing a good job, she was thoroughly enjoying this. She was laid back against the headboard of her bed relaxing she had her eyes closed in bliss, there was a smile still plastered on her face.

"What are you trying to tell me? Are you trying to tell me that you want to try dating seriously?" She asked

He continued to keep his mouth shut as he started to finish his message. She opened her eyes to see his reaction, she could see his nervousness rise.

She kept her smile "So, how long have you wanted to actually date me?" she asked changing the subject

His face burned red for a whole other reason "Uhh…"

"You're too cute you get all flustered over the littlest things." She commented with her smile

He felt like his face would burst into flames if his face got any warmer "I have wanted to date you for a long time, I just didn't know how to approach it."

She let out a stifled giggle "I wouldn't mind giving it a shot, however I want to take a break from fucking each other until you take me on a date"

She smiled and grinded her heel on his member making him grit his teeth and close his eyes in pleasure. She continued to smile as she put her tennis shoes on before walking out and leaving him all hot and bothered. He stayed there for a few minutes until his friend relaxed. He shook his head _"She is such a tease" He spoke to himself._ He finally left the room to get back to his daily tasks.

 **1300 hours Hereford**

A few hours had passed since Mitchell and Fletcher had their spat. Mitchell was still pretty agitated with his friend. He walked to his girlfriend's dorm, he opened the door. Tina was changing into her workout clothes, she looked back and smiled softly as she finished putting her tank top on. He returned the smile and he walked up to her and hugged her from behind. She could tell something was bothering him, she laid her head on his shoulder and kissed his cheek.

"What's bothering you?" she asked quietly

"Fletch doesn't want me to be in his hide spotting for him, instead he wants Meghan to be up there with him." Mitchell replied

"Is that an issue?" she asked with a very confused tone

"I think it is, because this will be the first time we aren't supporting each other on the field and we have always made it out of bad situations because we had each other." He continued to explain

"Well, where does he want you?" she asked again

He sighed "he wants me on the ground to help with the other ground teams in case something goes wrong. He wants Meghan up there because of her intel based kit."

"Well it's not a bad idea, Meghan would be able to do a lot of work from up there and cover him and you would do better in a frontal assault position." She replied

"So you're going side with him?" he asked in a slightly annoyed tone

His question agitated her, she looked at him and put her finger in his face "Don't you dare strike that tone with me" there was just enough spice in her voice to take the fight right out of him "I'm just stating the facts Mitch and he's not wrong." She continued in a softer tone

He didn't reply, he was more surprised with how she replied, he simply kissed her cheek softly and he continued to hug her. He was still pretty upset with Fletcher.

She softly smiled "now do you want to hit the gym with me or are you going to mope and pout up here?" she asked

He smiled softly "Yes I'll join you, it's the only way I get to see your ass in these shorts." He softly pinched her ass, she jumped at the unexpected motion and she softly hit his stomach with a smile.

* * *

As Mitchell and Tina went to the gym for their workout, Mike, Gilles, and Vicente were setting up teams for the UN meeting. They were in the briefing room with a map of the UN building laid out on one of the tables they also had a small map of Turtle Bay next to the UN map.

"Let's have Siu and Eliza take sections three and four." Gilles took a pencil and circled two hallways by two entrances into the primary theater

"Put Mark and Chul in section six to cover the emergency exits." Vicente took his pencil to circle the main exits

"Have Adrian, Morowa, Liu, and James cover section 2 for the front door." Mike marked them on the UN map

"Have Ela and Meghan cover section one." Vicente commented

"Uh Meghan is going to be with Fletcher in his hide, she will be giving support from there." Gilles informed

"Great, now who are we going to put with Ela?" Vicente replied

Both Mike and Gilles kind of shrugged all three of them thought hard about who they were going to pair with team Rainbow's resident loose cannon. They all thought long and hard about their decisions and they thought of the perfect solution, they needed another Maverick who had a similar thought process.

"Erik, he would fit perfectly." Vicente commented

"Sounds good pencil him in." Gilles replied

"Now section five we need someone with subtlety and who blends in." Mike commented

"Why not Dominic and Zofia? Those two can blend in and are relatively quiet until a fight comes their way." Vicente commented

"Sounds good, then we can have Oliver, Lera, Alex, and Jack cover the rear." Gilles replied

They penciled everyone in. They pushed the building map out of the way and they pulled the Kips Bay map over to them.

"Let's have Mitchell, Craig, and Jordan take up a patrol from 39th street to 42nd street." Vicente commented

He marked them on the map, they continued to break up the team across Midtown. They felt that the teams were sufficient. However Mike had a really bad feeling about the whole operation, he couldn't quite describe it, however it was quite off putting. He thought the Masks were acting out of character due to the fact that their attacks didn't really seem to have a motive behind them. Deep down he knew they were planning something that would be worse than Bartlett. He didn't like this feeling. He thought about the Masks attacking in New York and it made him shiver, to even consider the fact that the Masks have the resources and the logistics to pull off an attack on the UN. He had faith in the team but in a numbers battle he knew they surely would lose the fight.

"Do either of you feel like this op is sketchy?" Mike asked

"I've had this feeling since last week, this whole thing feels weird. Like why are the Masks being so quiet all of a sudden? I get that they lost quite a few soldiers in Bolivia but still we have seen them recover much quicker than this after the attack on Bartlett" Vicente was the first to chime in

"I don't know this doesn't seem like a Mask attack, just there is so much that can wrong on their part and they have to deal with us on top of the Rangers and Marines, not to mention the security staff of all the diplomats. That's a lot of firepower to deal with even with an army of terrorists." Gilles gave his response

"They are hiding something, not all of the cards are on the table and they probably have an ace in hole." Mike replied "make sure you are reading all of the briefings coming from DHS and CIA. I don't want any mishaps. Make sure when everyone is running simulators that they are being pushed to the absolute limit we need to be ready for anything that they could possibly throw at us. Also get these notes dispatched to the team so everyone knows where they are going to be dispatched to." Mike carried on

"Mike, I know you have been getting this question quite a bit, but do you really think the Masks will try to attack the UN?" Vicente asked

"It's difficult to say but the more they stay quiet the more likely they are to attack. If they don't attack soon or at all then I would say that the probability is pretty high for them to attack. Just so long as we keep running sims and prepping for any type of attack then we should be able to stop the Masks. Just make sure you and everyone else is being pushed to the borderline limit. I'll get these to Six for approval." Mike took a couple of pictures of the maps making sure the markings were clear on the pictures

Gilles and Vicente started to get everything dispatched to the rest of the team. The mess hall was quite busy and full, both Gilles and Vicente walked in and put the maps up on the pin board for everyone to see. As soon as the two finished putting the maps up every operator in hall went to the board as if they were waiting for test scores from their final exam. Most were pretty pleased with who they were teamed with. Ela wasn't overly excited about having to be paired with Erik she honestly thought that he was very stringent and wasn't the best at improvisation. She figured that he would immediately try to keep her under close watch and keep her in check instead of letting her loose. She would much rather be paired with Meghan, Monika, Lera, or even Liu. Erik looked at the map he wasn't thrilled about being inside of the UN building as he thought his talents would be better used out in the streets. His eyes scanned over the crowd and he found the green haired woman. He could tell that she wasn't happy with being paired with him what so ever. He knew the first couple simulations with her were going to rough until they finally adjusted to each other. He looked back to the map just to see who else would be in the building, he didn't have any real issues with all the ops in the building but he didn't really know all of the operators that well so he couldn't really complain. He looked back to see if Ela was amongst the crowd, She was gone. He let out a sigh, he knew he had his work cut out for him.

 **1500 hours Hereford**

Mike had started the team on simulations, most of the teams were calling out their position and listening for a call from local police. All the teams were on high alert and checking every little thing and person making sure that it wasn't a bomb or Mask under cover. Erik and Ela were patrolling their section, they were quiet and listening to the radio chatter. She had her signature Scorpion in her arms. Erik was carrying his M4. They walked by some digital Secret Service members, they continued on their path. It was an awkward silence between the two. He decided to try and break the ice.

"Poland huh?" He asked looking at her jacket

"Mhm" was all that she replied with not really wanting to talk

"I've always wanted to visit there I hear it's a really beautiful country." He continued

She had an annoyed look cover her face "Are you going to talk this entire time?" she asked with annoyance

"Just making small talk." He replied _"Okay, very touchy and quickly agitated." He noted to himself_

He kept his mouth shut as they continued to walk in their same foot prints. Their boots made soft thuds on the tile flooring as they walked the hall. They passed a lot of different security staffs of different diplomats. Finally there was an explosion close to their position down the hall from them. They both quickly sprinted toward the explosion, their guns clacking against their body armor and extra magazines. They got to the breach where Masks began to fill the hall gunning down security staff trying to cover their assets. Ela let her Scorpion scream at the Masks dumping the whole mag into her targets. She dove behind a tipped over vending machine, Erik was close behind. The sound of his M4 filled the air as the Masks poured into the building, the radio's came to life with call outs of enemy positions. The Masks continued to pour in from the breach.

"We need to seal the breach!" Erik yelled as he racked the charging handle on his rifle

"How?!" She asked as she fired a burst

Erik looked around and he saw a large piece of sheet metal lying next to the breach "We'll use that to cover the breach and have a foothold." He pointed to the sheet metal

She nodded in response, while she swapped out her magazines. There was a general call that came over the radio.

"All teams fall back to the section 5 cover assets and get them to safety." Mike sounded the call

"No we are not giving up this position" Ela replied

"Fall back you are outnumbered and you will be over ran." Mike replied

"Send reinforcements to section 1 we can hold it." she argued

"No, fall back and do as I say, quit arguing." He replied angered

Ela shook her head shutting off her radio and she smacked the charging handle down on her SMG and she launched herself into the fray, gunning down hostiles left and right. She tossed one of her Grzmots into the crowd. The thundering boom of the Grzmot could be heard at the main entrance. Erik quickly dove in for support, his M4 again filled the air. They had secured a foot hold at the breach. They were on either side of the breach, Erik grabbed the sheet metal and flipped it down in front of the breach. Rounds whizzed passed them, the smell of gun powder and blood filled the air. The light from outside the building was bright and blinding, Ela slid behind the sheet metal taking cover with her partner. The sheet metal screamed as the rounds bounced off of it, some bullets penetrated the metal hitting the concrete wall behind them. They couldn't peak over the metal without getting their head taken off. Ela peaked up to fire a quick burst into the crowd, she quickly ducked as a bullet grazed her ball cap taking off her headset.

"Gówno" (Shit in Polish)

"Hang on, I got this" he replied

He pulled out his torch and cut two holes just big enough for the two of them to see out and fire out of. Spent casings began to pile up on the floor beneath them. The sheet metal was losing its integrity and was close to fracturing in many spots.

"We need to move!" Erik shouted

"No, not yet, I still have one trick left." She replied

"What?" He asked

"Just follow my lead" she replied

She pulled her last two concussions off her chest rig and put them between her index finger and her middle finger with the second between her middle and ring finger and she stole one of his Flashbangs off his backpack and held it in her left hand. He continued to fire on the Masks taking them out as they charged at the building.

"Stop shooting" She spoke to him

"What?!" he asked looking at her with a crazy eye

"Just do it"

He stopped firing and the Masks slowly and eventually stopped firing. They slowly marched forward on their position. Erik panted as he looked to his squadmate, Ela looked at him and lipped the words "don't move"

"Breach one is clear we egressing into the building" A Mask called into his radio as he and his team moved closer to the breach

A whole two or three squads were right outside of the breach, Ela tossed her Grzmots into the crowd again disorienting the group, and she tossed the flashbang in right after the concussions. The Masks were utterly defenseless not being able to see or hear.

"Shoot!" she yelled to Erik as she dumped another forty round mag into the enemy

Erik also dumped his magazine into the Masks, the squads hit the floor just outside of their breach. Erik gave an impressed smile to his teammate.

"Nice job" he commented

"Thank you" She replied with the same cold tone as before

He shook his head and he flipped his radio on "This Maverick at section one, section one is clear."

There was no reply, on the radio. They both knew something was up, they immediately started running to the emergency exfill point, they cut through the lecture hall there were many White Mask and security staff corpses strung about across the main lecture hall. They got to the exfill point behind the lecture hall, there was a firefight. Ying, Dominic, and Liu were all dead on the floor. Adriano and Alex's lmgs bellowed filling the ears of both the enemy and friendlies alike, Lera was feeding ammunition to the two. They had multiple deployable shields set up for cover. They had multiple VIPs cowering behind them, Chul, Mark, Olivier, and Morowa were escorting VIPs out to the vehicles in the back. The two immediately jumped into action Erik started helping with the extraction while Ela was helping Eliza with flanking.

"BOOSTING ADRENALS!" Lera shouted

She punched the button on her glove sending a boost through all of the operators in the area. The operators felt the surge hit their blood stream they continued to keep up the fire. The Masks continue to take ground on the operators.

"We need support in section six they are taking ground and we need assistance, Assets are not clear, I repeat assets are not clear!" Adrian shouted into his radio

"Roger, all units mover to section six assist VIP evac." Mike called to all of the operators

The operators held their ground despite the enemy gaining ground. Ela and Eliza were doing what they could to try and keep the enemy on their toes. Most of the VIPs were evac'd however there was a blue light shining at the end of the corridor.

"Bomber incoming!" Alex shouted

Everyone focused their fire at the end of the corridor, the bomber continued to sprint down the hall with no regard for personal safety, he continued to fire his LMG at the operators making sure they were pinned. Alex had to back off from his turret as the shield was completely destroyed. Both Ela and Eliza got pinned down with the rest of the group. Erik peeked out from behind a shield and the bomber was right on top of them. He dove at the bomber taking him to the ground, he reached for the detonator only to be gunned down by the other Masks in the hall. The bomber triggered his detonator killing the remaining operators and the VIPs. All of the operators in the simulation was notified of a mission failure. They all got out of the simulators. All that were not in the UN building were confused as to why and how they failed. They got out of the simulators looking at one another and asking what happened, the room was filled with chatter. Mike stood above the crowd.

"Everyone meet in the control room" Mike called over the team of operators

All of the operators moved to the briefing room and took their seats with their squadmates. Erik and Ela took their seats in the back, neither of them speaking a word. Mike was not pleased with the team's performance. He let out a long winded sigh as he looked over the crowd.

"We certainly have a lot to work on. Let's start with section 1, you should have fallen back when I told you to."

"If we didn't hold that position we would have been fighting on two sides instead of one, we would have lost almost all of the VIPs." Ela fired out

"If you would have fallen back, you could gave given additional support to the evac team and we could have gotten all VIPs out of the hot zone but you disobeyed a direct order. You assisted her Mr. Thorn tell me why didn't you force the fall back." Mike spoke to Erik in a crude demeanor.

"It's just like she said, it was a position that needed to be held. If we did lose the position, we would've been putting the VIPs at additional risk and our forces would have been split up even more than what we already are. We needed to hold the position plus it put more focus on us taking the attention off the main entrance so the team guarding the entrance could fall back. So really, why didn't you send support to us?" He argued

Mike smirked "While I don't like my orders being ignored, I will let it slide this time, since you did bring in results. However if any squad leader gives you an order you both have to follow it and not just disregard it like you did."

They both nodded quietly, deep down they both knew that if things got sideways they would most likely do whatever was necessary to win the battle whether it was an order or not. Ela was surprised that he defended her, however she refused to show it. She was also surprised that he stayed to fight with her in the simulation. _"Maybe it won't be as bad as I think, to work with him." she thought to herself._ She subtly looked over at him and nodded as she thought, she turned her attention back to the front of the room. Mike continued to give criticism on just about everyone even if they did their job well, he still had a comment on what they could improve on. Some of the operators had note books and were taking notes on what they needed to improve upon. Lera was the main culprit of this she vigorously took notes and comments on her position to ensure that she could be perfect the next time they ran the simulation.

 **1900 hours**

The team had been running constant simulations, they had a few rough successes and a lot of failures. They weren't demoralized by their losses, however it did bother them that they lost in so many of the simulations. Most of the ops were in their dorms resting, some were still walking around the base hanging out. Some were talking with each other on how they could improve. Tina and Mitchell were in her room laying on the bed, she was quietly watching her own footage from her simulation. Mitchell was looking at the most recent statistics from the Reds, he looked over to her. Her eyes were locked on the screen in front of her, she was making mental notes of every single little mistake she had made. He could tell she was slightly stressed from every error she was making. He smiled

"Take a break from that, your stressing yourself out." He spoke to her

"But it's necessary, the more I learn from my mistakes the sooner I can improve on it and the safer I make the UN diplomats." She replied

"Tina the op isn't until October there is plenty of time for improvement. Today was just the first day of our bigger simulations we have plenty of time for improvement." Mitchell rebutted

"Yes, but the sooner I get to perfection the less I have to worry about it" she replied

He smiled at her and softly shook his head, he admired her perfectionist attitude however she would push it too far from time to time.

"Tina we have been doing this all day I think you need to take a break." He took the phone out of her hands softly and calmly

She looked at him and sighed softly. She turned on her side propping her head up with her hand "Are you still mad at Fletcher?" she asked not knowing what else to talk about

He locked his phone and looked at her "Yes I am and it stresses me out, so could we not talk about it?" He asked

She nodded "Then what did you have in mind of doing?" she asked

"I don't know, just something to keep our minds busy and off of work" He replied looking at her

She had a smirk come on her face "I'll bet you have something in mind"

"Maybe" He gave a sly smile

She leaned in and they shared kiss, he slowly slipped his up her shirt. He took her bra off with precision and he tossed it aside. He sent his hand back up her shirt and he cupped her breast softly squeezing it. She had a cold chill run through her body

"Your hands are cold" she shivered again with a smile

He just smiled and he flicked his thumb across her nipple making her gasp and she moaned softly. She closed her eyes as he softly toyed with her nipples rolling them between his forefinger and thumb. She had closed her eyes and elicited a soft moan as he toyed with her nipples. She slowly removed his shirt, and she took off her own. She leaned in and gave him a kiss of hunger and lust. She softly tugged at his bottom lip as she ran her hand down his chiseled body, she made sure to feel every single crevice and every muscle. She snaked her hand down his pants she could feel his hard member. She wrapped her hand around the shaft and gave it a hard squeeze. He let out a moan and he shuddered under her touch. She bit her lip as she watched him shudder. She pulled down his pants, freeing his friend. She gave him a few soft strokes making him moan louder. His moans were heavenly on her ears, she ran her thumb across the tip making his breath hitch.

"Fuck" he breathily said

She continued to smile and she kissed his tip, his breath hitched again. She slowly lowered herself to his penis, she took the tip into her mouth. She sucked as hard as she could, His moans filled the room. Her tongue danced and swirled around the tip, He closed his fists on the sheets. She absolutely loved his reactions. Her tongue continued to dance, she slowly took him all the way into her mouth. She sucked as hard as she could, he was nonstop cussing and moaning in pleasure.

"Oh Fuck!" he exclaimed

His hand latched onto the back of her head, he grabbed a fistful of her hair. She smiled as she continued her work. His breathing picked up and she could feel him tremble, he fired his load into the back of her throat, her mouth was filled to the brim with his milk. She continued to drain him until his orgasm ended. She pulled off of him with a smile she had a little bit of cum dribble out the side of her mouth. She swallowed all of it, she had the look of a hungry wolf.

"Fuck that's the best blowjob I have ever had" he panted with a smile

He noticed the look in her eye and predatory smile that consumed her face, she seductively stripped her sweat pants and her black panties. He took in the gorgeous woman standing in front of him. His eyes traced up every curve and every little feature. She shared a kiss with him, he could taste some of himself on her lips. She straddled his chest and she put her womanhood in his face. She grabbed a fist of his hair and she guided him to her vagina. He knew what she wanted. He smiled at her and he latched on to her clit, He heard her breath hitch at the soft touch of his lips. He softly kissed the pink bud, he parted his lips and he let tongue flick across her clit. He made a zig zag pattern down her folds, She let out a moan and she clutched his hair tighter. He passionately sucked on her folds and clit making her moan repeatedly. She let out a string of curses. He was pretty sure he heard her speak Chinese at one point. He continued to devour her delicious pussy. She started to pant and grip his hair really tight in her hand. She started to grind on his tongue. Her moans continued to escalate in volume so did her curses. Her body tensed and she released, she almost screamed at the top of her lungs in pleasure. She coated Mitchell's face in her love nectar. She dismounted his face, they both smiled at each other. He had her juices running down his chin. She still had the look of hunger in her eyes and she pulled him in and they shared a passionate kiss. She bit his lip again, after the kiss broke she looked down to see his pole still standing tall. She crouched over top of his rod and she slowly sank down onto him. She let another moan escape her lips. He put his hands on her hips, he smiled flipped them over so he was on top she brought her knees closer to her chest while keeping her legs spread. He kept his smile and he started to thrust in and out of her. She let out a loud moan. He started with quick and shallow thrusts. After a few minutes he started with slow and long thrusts. Both were moaning quite loudly. He thrusted into her as hard as he could.

"OH FUCK!" She cried out

They looked into each other's eyes, they shared a look of lust and ecstasy. She bit her lip and her moans continued to pour out of her mouth. He took one hand and he run his thumb across her clit making her moan louder. She started cussing again, she tossed her head back in bliss, her eyes were shut tight, her fists clenched tightly against the sheets. Mitchell continued to pound away at her, he too let out small moans under his breath. He pounded at her as hard as he could.

"Yes, yes, yes!" she shouted

Her moans were music to his ears, it only encouraged him to keep going as hard as he could. She forced him to change positions. The two flipped over again and she was on top. She leaned back and put her hands on his legs to support her. She wanted him to hit her g spot. She started riding him and the response was immediate. She moaned as loud as she could, she was making sure that he hit her g spot.

"Son of a bitch!" she nearly screamed again.

"Fuck!" He replied

She continued to ride him the sound of flesh slapping together filled the room. He saw her tense up again. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she started to tremble.

"Oh Shit!" was all that she squeezed out

She released again she coated his lower abdomen in her cum. She had to put her hands on his chest to hold herself up. He continued to thrust in and out of her, he was close, and he wanted her orgasm to last longer. After a few short seconds her orgasm ended and he pulled her off of his rod and he covered her nether regions with his seed. She fell onto the bed next to him, both were panting heavily. They both were smiling.

"Well did I take your mind off work?" He asked with a smile

She giggled softly and nodded, they shared another kiss. "Yes you did" with a smile

The two laid on the bed with ecstasy leaving their systems. After Tina recovered her breath she got a couple of waters out of her mini fridge and handed one to him. He chugged down almost half the bottle.

"It has been way to long since the last time I had done that" He commented

"Same" she replied

They shared another kiss and they looked at the time almost an entire hour had passed.

"You were amazing" He smiled

"Thank you, were just as good." She smiled

"Your oral game is amazing, I have never had an orgasm that quick from a blow job." He continued

She just giggled and gave him another kiss. They both laid on the bed for a good while basking in the endorphins that were in their system. They continued to talk about their love making until they passed out from exhaustion. They snuggled up to each other as the night encapsulated Hereford.


	28. Chapter 28: Reflection

**AN: Hey everyone, so you have probably been wondering where I have been. I have been quite busy with school and other aspects of life. This chapter was really hard for me to write not mention that it is the longest chapter I have written (16,845 words to be exact). This chapter is kind of brutal on some of the things that happen in it, just giving a small advisory. Next subject, I know most of you who follow this story also follow Kingeddie's Unsung Hero and he has announced that he is rewriting his story. I would also like to say that i will be reworking some of my earlier chapters and the home bound chapters as more lore is being dumped on us. My rework won't be a complete rewrite however there will be some changes to upscale the quality of those chapters. I need to give a massive shout out to GrimGravy, he is an absolutely wonderful person. He beta read this chapter three times for me. Please if you aren't following his stories, go follow them this man is an exellent writer and his stories are a good read. Enough of my rambling. Please leave a review or PM me if I missed an error. Enjoy!**

 _ **Chapter 28: Reflection**_

 **September 3, 2018**

 **Location Unknown, Time Unknown**

Taylor was sitting in his office watching his men run the simulations over and over again. He had nothing else to keep his mind occupied. His eyes were glued to the screens in front of him. However his mind continued to ponder on a variety of subjects. He was very distracted from everything he couldn't focus on one thing. He didn't notice John walk into the room, John sat down at the desk. He watched his employer and he could tell something was bothering him.

"What's a matter kid?" John asked

The new voice snapped Taylor out of the pool of thoughts he was in. He looked to his more trusted asset.

"What did you say?" Taylor asked

"What's wrong? You seem unusually spread out." John commented

Taylor looked at the older man "It's none of your business John. What do you need anyway?"

"The teams gathering your freighters have secured six ships they say they have a seventh on surveillance and they will be taking it tonight." John replied

Taylor nodded "Tell them I have men in transit to gather and prep the ships for the assault."

"Will do. Are you sure there isn't anything that is bothering you?" John asked

"No John, now get out of my office" Taylor replied with aggression and waving John out.

John left the office, he knew something was up. He chose not to push the subject, he was going back to watch the teams run the simulations. Taylor looked to the giant calendar that covered most of his desk. He today circled, today was a very important day. It was his and Robert's birthday, they both would've been forty-five. Taylor poured two glasses of scotch. He took his glass and raised it quietly in the air before he started drinking. He looked at the picture of his brother on his desk. He couldn't help but think about the day that sparked the fire to start this organization. Taylor started to reminisce about his brother. His brother worked for a PMC in Poland. Taylor's family actually migrated from Poland, him and his brother were the first of their family to be naturally born Americans. They obviously had family in Poland and they visited frequently. Robert spent two years in Poland before deciding on starting a career in the PMC. He even worked with a certain green haired woman. Taylor and Robert were quite close they were always talking with one another. He missed his brother dearly, sometimes he would be walking around in the base and he would turn around to talk to Rob then realize that his brother wasn't there. He could feel a lump grow in his throat, his eyes became watery as his thoughts lingered on his brother. He could feel tears building up in his eyes. He wiped his eyes, His thoughts of sadness were trumped by anger when he remembered who was responsible for his brother's death.

 **October 4, 2008**

 **Iraq, FOB** _ **"Striker"**_ **2100 hours**

Things were starting to settle down for the night at the base most of the soldiers were coming back from their patrols. Both Robert and Taylor were on base. However the PMC force was stationed on the other side of the base their quarters were much better than that of an enlisted soldier. Their quarters was three trailers that had been modified and put together as one. The walls were lined with an Oak paneling. There was a window every few feet on either side of their barracks. There was a makeshift kitchen, dining and living area all were pretty small. They had six sets of bunk beds behind the dining area. The lighting was fairly good with fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling. Most of the team that was there for the night were at the metal table of the dining area. There was a single light over the table. Robert was relaxing in the dining area of the barracks. He was playing cards with Mac a 33 year old Scotsman who was picked up in his home country after getting a medical discharge because he was on the receiving end of a mortar shell and he took some shrapnel in his left leg. The surgeons were able to get everything out but they didn't want him operating despite the fact he was still in peak physical condition. The PMC found him working as a shipping manager for a trucking company and he wanted to get back into the good fight. Reitter a 32 year old German, former GSG 9 operator. He performed well with the GSG 9 he served a four year contract with group before leaving for the PMC to travel and see more of the world, also to get paid more. Preston was also playing cards with the group he was 28, an American who was a former Marine. He was stationed in Germany and he decided to stay in Germany and left the Marines after his contract was up. He wanted to find new work and the owner of the PMC ran into him at a local bar and recruited him. Preston was smoking a cigar as he played. Robert himself was 35 the eldest of the group he had been with the company for roughly ten years. They were having a good time playing poker. Ela was in the back at her bunk watching the game and reading a letter she had received. She was waiting for her late night patrol to start. She had spent the week mulling over a botched operation in Baghdad. Luckily the whole team had her back. She was good friends with most of the other operators on her team she enjoyed being around most of them. However, Robert and Ela were really good friends. They were always bantering with each other with pet names and pranks. They played off of each other very well in combat, both were instinctual fighters. No one else in the company was able to get as close to Ela as Robert.

Robert threw down a couple of Euros on the table "I call" his voice had a tinge of a polish accent on top of the American accent

Reitter shook his head and dropped a couple of curses in his language. "I fold, I got absolute shit. Preston you need to quit stacking the deck."

Preston just smiled "It's not my fault you have shitty luck" he fingered over his cards "I'll raise you Rob." He smiled as he threw down a few more Euros on the table

Mac gave a coy smile and he looked his cards he had flush. He threw everything he had to the center of the table "I'm all in lads" he spoke in a somewhat cheerful tone.

Rob let out a frustrated sigh "I hate it when you do this, I can't tell what you got" Robert smirked

"That sounds like a you problem Robert, he has absolute shit and he is just trying to scare us" Preston threw everything in

"Whatever you say Preston, I guess I'm calling" Robert also went all in

"Flip your cards" Mac spoke

They all showed their cards, Robert smack the table with mild anger. Preston shook his head in disbelief. Rietter just chuckled.

"You've done it yet again Mac" Rietter smirked

Mac chuckled "You keep this up I'll be rich before I go back home, stay stupid for me lads"

Robert shook his head and looked over to where Ela was sitting. She had a distraught look on her face. She was clutching an ancient looking military patch.

"What's a matter Greenie?" he asked with a smile

"Korzac, how many times have I told you not to call me that?" she asked with agitation

He just smiled "What's up with your letter?" He asked

"Nothing important." She smiled and lied while her thoughts scrambled

Rob shook his head "That didn't answer my question Greenie." He smirked

Ela worked her jaw with slight agitation "I would rather not talk about it right now." She replied

Robert got up and walked over to the table and sat down next to her as the rest of the operators carried on with another card game. He looked at her with concern in his eyes.

"What's going on?" he asked quietly

She swallowed hard and he could see the water sitting in her eyes. "My father took his own life." She replied barely in a whisper, she tightened her grip on the patch in her hand.

"I'm sorry" Rob replied just as quietly he gave a sympathetic look, he would have hugged her but she was strongly against physical contact

"I can't help but think it was my fault, I treated him like shit. I left home and I didn't write to him or even call him. I can't hardly remember when I last talked to him." She was fighting back her tears

Robert remained quiet listening to her "I don't get it either, he treated me terribly. I don't know why I'm so upset." She continued

"It's because he was your father, no matter how bad he treated you he was still family." Robert continued

Ela continued to listen to the thoughts scrambling around in her head. As much as she hated her father she still had a small piece of unconditional love for him. She got a nostalgic feeling she missed home, she started think about GROM. She had always wanted to be on the force. However her father would have set impossible expectations. Now that he was gone she could join and start making for the sins she committed against her family in her younger years. It was a few minutes of silence between the two as she thought.

"I want to join GROM" She spoke with defiance

"That will be good for you Greenie." He smiled "You should clear your head before you decide on what you want to do" Rob carried on

"My mind is made up, I've always wanted to join GROM and I owe it to my father to do it. I still can't believe he's gone." Ela continued to grieve and fight her tears

Rob sighed softly as he thought it was too soon for her to make a decision that big, but it wasn't his choice. "Y'know I'm going to miss you Greenie" Rob replied

"I'm going to miss you guys as well." She replied quietly and with a very vague smile as she wiped her tears

The two fell into silence again, Rob just giving his support to a teammate and a good friend. She couldn't stop thinking about her father and her grandfather as every minute passed she clutched the patch tighter and tighter in her fist. The door to their barracks flew open. Their boss walked, his aura demanded authority. Everyone looked to their employer.

"Korzac, Rietter, Mac, and Preston. You're running an op in conjunction with ODA 419. Get your kits and make your way over to TACCOM" their leader spoke

The four of them got up and grabbed their gear. Ela watched them as they started to leave their barracks.

"Good luck guys" Ela spoke to the group with her bloodshot teary eyes

"I'll see you when I get back Greenie" He smiled and gave her a look of sympathy before he left the barracks

The group made their way to the command building, Taylor and his team were waiting for the PMCs. They all walked into the room together. General Redfield he was at the ever so young age of 54. His hair still retained its brown coloring it was a standard crew cut. He stood at a short height of 5'5" however he was a ferocious leader and no one ever dared to mess with him. He was standing next to his projector, he had been in a mood all week. Al Queda was being a serious thorn in his side and it pissed him off. It didn't help that he had a Delta Force team blow through his base, and they didn't exactly listen to all of his commands. He had agitated look on his face. All of the operators gathered around.

"As you know over the past week Al Queda has been causing issues with our operations in this region. There is a local insurgency group that has offered to help us with our ops. The issue lies in the fact that he wants money in return for his help. Which is why I brought you all in on this" He looked and nodded to the contractors. "Anyway, we won't be able to give support to you on this op, due mountain ranges." He pressed a button on his remote, A satellite image of a mountain range appeared on the screen. "You will be inserted onto the foothill of this mountain range. It's a two hour march to the mountain village, the locals speak a variety of languages such as Uzbek, Russian, Turkish, Hungarian, and some English. The locals do support the US so it seems. The name of the insurgency group is Jan 19" He emphasized "They should be easy to win over. Now exfill is going to be the issue, we won't be able to give you choppers to pick you up due to weather conditions, NOAA is calling for a snowstorm on the mountain range. There are also rumors and reports of Al Qaeda at the bottom of the foothill so be careful. You will have to go down the hill and use indigenous vehicles to drive home. There is a UN QRF on standby however we don't know if they will be able to give you a quick exit. Are there any questions?" Redfield asked

"Is there going to be an ISR pred overhead or are we on our own?" Ryan Dickson asked

Ryan was the leader of ODA 419. He was 34 with black hair and brown eyes minimal facial hair and he stood at 5'11". He has had quite a rough deployment and most of his ops were botched and none of the command over him was happy to see his team. There were rumors of his team possibly being dissolved if anything else was to go wrong.

"With the snow storm looming we can't afford to risk a drone on this op so you are all on your own. Any other questions?" Redfield asked

No one asked anything they remained quiet, Redfield nodded.

"Alright get to it. Dismissed" Redfield shut off the projector and the team left the command building

 **Iraq, 0040 hours**

Taylor's ODA team and the small detachment of Robert's PMC force were finally getting to the top of the foothill. The terrain was mountainous and rocky, it was very cold. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground, the moonlight reflected off the powder, casting a shallow light into the dark night. With every step they took the snow crunched under their boots. Occasionally on would blow on their hands to keep them warm casting a small cloud of their breath into the air. The other team members of the ODA group weren't too keen on having the contractors come with them. Taylor and Robert alike were thrilled to be running an op together. They had finally come up on the mountain village after their long two hour march from their infill point. The village looked big enough to house a few hundred people, but from what they could see most of them were civilians. Only twenty or thirty military age males. The leader of the insurgency was patiently waiting with his men. The ODA team and the contractors stood behind the Korzac brothers.

"You're up T." Rob commented

"Yep, you got my back right?" Taylor asked

"Yeah, you know I always do." Rob replied with a smile

Taylor smirked, as the leader walked toward them. The insurgency leader was a heavier set man, his beard was thick and bushy, perfect for the cold. His face showed ageing, he was easily in his sixty's. His skin tone was comparable to that of khaki. His eyes were dark and beady, he had his head wrapped in rags. His headdress slightly covered his ears. He was wearing a wool coat that protected him from the cruel wind. The snow crunched under his steps. He stopped a few feet in front of the two. Taylor stepped forward.

"Do you speak English?" Taylor asked

"Yes, I do. Are you the Americans?" leader questioned

"Yes, I understand that you will give us support to defeat Al Qaeda. Correct?" Taylor asked

"Yes I will support you, so long as you support us. Do you have my money?" the leader challenged back

Taylor looked to Robert "Give it to him"

Robert reached down and picked up the duffle bag. There was a light frosting on the bag and his gloves. He threw it to the leader, the frost falling to the ground as it flew through the air. The leader caught the bag and opened it. There were bundles of hundred dollar bills in ten thousand dollar stacks. The leader gave a large smile.

"Come, come drink and eat with us and I will give you everything that have" he spoke in a joyous tone

"Jackson, Rameriez, Allen. Take up security out here. Taylor you're with me" The ODA leader commanded. The three nodded back.

"We'll let you know if we see anything Ryan." Allen replied

"Hey Robbie, stay out here and help these guys out" Taylor spoke to his brother

"No problem brother" he looked to his team. "Spread out and set up security."

Taylor and Ryan followed the leader into his home. The remaining ODA members and the PMCs took up foot patrols on the edge of the village. Some of the children ran to the soldiers bringing them warm liquids as a token of gratitude. Robert enjoyed the look of excitement on the children's faces. They were so happy to see the soldiers in their village. Robert was always fond of children, he loved their innocence. He wanted children of his own someday. One of the little boys had a ball and went to Robert with a smile and he rolled the ball to the grown man. Robert smiled and crouched down to the child's level and he softly rolled the ball back. He thought the ball felt oddly heavy, he figured that it was just because of how cold the air was. The boy gave a heartfelt giggle, Robert had a huge smile on his face. They continued to roll the ball back and forth for a few minutes, a couple of the ODA guys came over to watch the two. It reminded some of them of their own kids. Robert rolled the ball back again. The child gave a small giggle and picked up the ball. The operators smiled at the young boy. Robert looked at the ball and noticed something causing the leather to sag at the bottom. He also noticed some handmade stitching on one of the seams of the ball. The boy pressed up on the sagging leather pretty hard. There was a large explosion launching the operators back. The child was completely disintegrated only the only remains of him were his clothes on the scorched ground.

The leader was showing Taylor and Ryan the different positions of the terrorist group in the region on his map. Ryan was taking many photographs of the map. Taylor was quietly taking in everything that the leader was saying. They heard the explosion and the two ran out of the building to see what happened. They saw their men on the ground, there was smoke rolling off their uniforms. Tension and hostilities sky rocketed, Taylor drew his M16 and aimed it right at the leader's head.

"Did you plan that?!" Ryan shouted looking at the leader

"That wasn't us" the leader attempted to assure

"Bullshit!" Taylor retaliated

Robert coughed as he picked himself up out of the snow. He helped Allen and Jackson up off the ground. The insurgents had their guns drawn at the soldiers as they got off the ground. The other contractors came running from their positions, they had their own guns drawn.

"You alright?" Rietter asked

"Considering I got blown up, yeah." Robert replied

He raised his AUG A3 back at the insurgents. Rietter had his G36 aimed in the same direction. Everyone was waiting to see who would shoot first. Their fingers were on the triggers. The wind howled through the groups. The leader and Ryan started yelling at each other.

"You knew we were coming and you were going to take the money and then try to kill us!" Ryan shouted

"It wasn't us, I want the help of you Americans. Why would I want to kill you?!" the leader retaliated

The argument continued to heat up everyone was feeling tense. Robert felt terrible, he looked right were the kid standing and saw absolutely nothing but the scorched scarf that he was wearing. The next thing he heard was a shot, he looked over into Taylor's direction to see the leader of the insurrection was on the ground. The men to his left and right fired on the group of the insurrection soldiers. The gun fire echoed through the entirety of the mountain range, the sound traveled quickly down the mountainside. The Al Qaeda fighters heard the fighting and they grabbed hold of their lead slingers and they started their trek up the side of the foothill.

"Push up!" Ryan called to his group pushing the insurrectionists back

Robert snapped himself out of his thought bubble and he and Rietter pushed into one of the buildings. The ODA team pushed forward making the insurrection fall back even further into the town. Robert had his contractors push with his brother. Rietter and Rob pushed into the living room of one of the houses, they scanned their corners and taking their time.

"Let's move to the top floor." Rob commanded

"Got it" Rietter replied

They moved quickly up the stairs and they moved into one of the bedrooms. It was clear, the moved down the hall to the master bedroom. The door was shut, they stacked up on the door. Rob tested the knob, the door was locked. He tapped his knuckles on his helmet, Rietter grabbed his super shorty out of his hip holster. He fired all three shells into the hinges of the door. The shots echoed through the halls and wood splinter littered the floor beneath them. Rob kicked the door in, he swiped his AUG across the room checking for any looming threats in the shadows. He could hear a woman sobbing amongst the echoes of gunfire. He looked around the room and there wasn't a closet, she must have been under the bed. He turned around and walked out of the room. He declared that she wasn't a threat.

"Room's clear" Rob informed

The two started to make their way out of the house. They got back down to the first floor which was still clear. They decided to push through the kitchen to back up their team. They got to the kitchen to find a little girl who was crying. Rietter crouched down next to the girl.

"It's not safe here little one, you need to get out of here. Hide in the bedroom with your mother." He spoke in a soft tone, his accent was pleasing to the ears

The little girl looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears. She grit her teeth and she drew an ancient looking Makarov pistol. Before Rietter could react she fired the relic and the round went through his head. Robert was transfixed the child crying that he didn't even realize what had happened. He saw the girl turn toward him and the gun was aimed at his head. His instincts kicked into action. He raised his AUG and sent the round through the child's head dropping her to the floor. He snapped out of his trance yet again and he kneeled down next to his friend and he cussed himself out for getting distracted and not reacting quick enough. He reloaded his AUG and ran outside to join the fight. He regrouped with the ODA team, the insurgents were no match for the combined forces of the ODA and the PMCs. They pushed into the village square. The last of the insurgents were held up in the town hall.

"You" Ryan spoke to Robert "Take your team and breach the backside, we'll go through the front. Eliminate all hostiles."

Robert nodded "Got it"

Robert took the last of his PMCs to the back of the town hall. Taylor could tell something was bothering Rob. The look in his eye was of one of defeat. He needed to talk to him, he needed to focus on the task at hand. He and his team stacked on the front door. Ryan gave a short rap on the top of his helmet with his knuckles. Taylor took his primer cord and lined the exterior of the door with it. His team took a few steps back waiting for his brother to ready his team. Robert and his team were at the back door.

"Rob were is Rietter?" Mac asked

"He didn't make it, put a breacher on the door" Robert commanded

Mac was suspicious as to what happened to his friend. He took his own primer cord and laid it on the door making a perfect square on the middle of the wooden door. Rob was on the left side of the door, Mac and Preston on the right.

"Ready for breach" Rob called on the radio

"On three, one…two…three. Breach!" Ryan called

Both teams detonated their primer cord simultaneously. The doors were nothing but splinters. They tossed two flashbangs in per team. After the bangers went off and the teams pushed in. They ran in gunning down the hostiles as they appeared. They cleared all of the first floor in a matter of minutes, they quickly pushed to the top floor up the ancient stairwells. The walls were a sky blue, the paint was severely faded and it was starting to flake. The stairs were in about the same state they creaked under each step taken. There were only two, rooms the mayor's office and the deputy Mayor's office. Ryan motioned for the PMCs to take one room and they took the other. They set up another breach charge on the doors. The ODA team set their charge off first, Taylor was the first was in the door he checked every corner and behind the large desk in the room. The PMCs were next Preston was the first in the door for their team. There were no insurgents in either of the rooms.

"CLEAR!" Taylor yelled

"CLEAR!" Preston shouted

The entire team grouped up in the lobby of the building. Ryan was wanting answers. He looked to Robert.

"What happened?" Ryan was pissed and rightly so

"I was playing with the kid, he picked up the ball and he detonated a bomb in the ball." Rob replied

Ryan let out a frustrated sigh and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is why I don't like having contractors come along on ops like this" he spoke in a condescending tone

"Look man that kid would have detonated that thing whether we were here or not." Preston commented

"Yes, however if you weren't here playing with that kid he would have had to made an aggressive move in order to kill someone and we could have seen him coming and maybe salvaged our negotiations." Ryan replied

The teams started to argue. Robert stayed out of the argument he fell deep into his own thoughts. He felt absolutely terrible. He watched a child die for no real good reason and he got one of his teammates killed because he hesitated on killing a child. He felt a presence at his side and he looked over it was Taylor.

"What's wrong?" Taylor asked

"They killed that kid and I got my friend killed because I hesitated on killing a child with a gun." Robert spoke quietly.

"There isn't much you can do about it now." Taylor replied "There isn't much I can do to help you with your grief. That's something you will have to work on internally. I will always listen if you need someone to talk to." Taylor continued and gave his brother a pat on the shoulder. They sat together in some of the chairs that made up a make shift waiting area.

"That kid knew what he was doing T I don't think he was with the insurgents." Rob looked at Taylor

"Well it's too late to worry about it now, that's for someone else to figure out. Where is your German?" Taylor asked

"He's back in one of the houses. A fucking 10 year old with a 9 mil got the best of me and him" Rob replied with a distraught look on his face

Taylor sighed and looked at his brother "You need to stop trusting kids man, I know you can't help it but damn it."

"Like you said, there is nothing I can do about it now. Rietter is gone, this whole debacle is my fault I shouldn't have even looked at that kid." Rob felt terrible

Taylor wasn't the best consoler but he did what he could. After a few minutes the group stopped fighting.

"Look we need to get out of here before that storm hits." Ryan spoke over the group

"We have a man to take home with us." Rob spoke up

"If he's dead you're carrying him we'll give assistance but with security but that's it" Ryan replied tersely

The PMCs got over to Rietter's corpse, they all looked at him and shook their heads. They looked to Robert. Mac in particular was quite upset.

"Rob you were with him, what happened?" Mac had slight aggression in his voice

"I froze and that kid killed him." Rob replied

Mac let out an angry huff, his eyes were locked on Rob. They burned with a deep and fiery rage. Preston put his hand on Mac's shoulder and shook his head. Mac jerked his shoulder throwing Preston's hand away. They made a makeshift stretcher to carry Rietter's body. Robert started to make a grab for the spar poles. Mac smacked Rob's hands away

"I can't have you freezing up and dropping him" Mac spoke with anger

Robert backed away silently not wanting to argue.

"Hurry up that storm is going to be on top of us any second now" Ryan spoke loudly into the building

"We're moving" Preston assured

Mac and Preston got the stretcher and walked outside. The entire team started their way down the side of the foot hill. The groups were rather quiet. The ODA formed a horseshoe pattern around Mac and Preston. Taylor and Robert were at the rear. The wind picked up and they night sky became darker with clouds. Out of the blue a large cloud of snow came over the group. The wind howled in their ears. The snow packed itself deep in their clothes and hair. They were only a few feet apart from each other Ryan turned around and faced the team and turned on his flashlight.

"STAY CLOSE USE YOUR LIGHTS AS BEACONS KEEP MOVING!" Ryan shouted over the howling wind.

Everyone turned on their flashlights. They couldn't see two feet in front of them. Wind howled and hammered the operators with its cold touch. Robert wrapped his scarf around his face to protect it. The snow was starting to pack itself into the operator's uniforms and facial hair. Most of them started putting their hands on the other's backpacks to stay together. Robert felt Taylor's hand grab onto one of the straps of his pack. They walked a few more feet before both realized that they had fell behind as the flashlights were very dim and distant. The two siblings started jog to catch up.

"Go a little faster!" Taylor shouted

Rob picked up his pace, they were both sprinting at this point. They kept moving.

"Wait! Slow Down!" Taylor shouted to his ODA brothers

His cries were whisked away in the wind. The flashlights slowly disappeared in the darkening abyss of the storm. Rob kept moving down the side of the hill they had been walking for almost a half hour they could see a very dim light in distance. They started to move towards the light. There was ice starting to form in their beards, their legs were starting to numb. The light was a dull yellow. They got closer and realized it was a building, they immediately went inside to escape the storm. There was a fire burning inside, they both walked to it and they warmed themselves next to the fire.

"Do you think they noticed us missing?" Rob asked

"Not in this shit, they won't notice till they get to the cars and even then they won't be able to do anything." Taylor blew into his fists and rubbed them together.

They both were shivering from cold, Taylor finally looked around the house they were in. It was rather bland, no pictures on the walls and no nothing aside from a dull white paint. There was only a few pieces of furniture were in the house. There was only a couch and a recliner with a few miscellaneous chairs lying about. Taylor grabbed another log of wood and he threw it on the fire. He took off his pack and set down on the couch and the flame continued to warm him. He looked over to Rob.

"We should stay here until the storm blows over." Taylor informed

"You think?" Rob chuckled "I wouldn't go back out there if you forced me" he smiled softly

He crashed down right next to his brother. He reached into his own pack and pulled out some jerky that was lightly frozen. He opened the ziplock container and the air was filled with the smell of dried meat and seasonings. Taylor looked over at the jerky longingly.

"Grandma made it, want some?" Rob asked

"Yeah I want it, dumbass" Taylor replied "You and I both know that Grandma makes the best jerky in all of Poland." He snagged a piece out of the container

Rob nodded in agreement "Damn right" as he grabbed his own piece and slowly bit into it. He had forgotten about Rietter and the kids at the village for at least a little while. He started to chuckle as he thought about his grandmother's house "Remember when you set her carpet on fire?" Rob asked

"I think you mean, when we set it on fire." Taylor chuckled softly at the memory "You were the one who decided to use the wood scorching pen inside" He pointed at his brother "Then you tossed the pen to me without bothering to tell me you little shit."

They both laughed "That was the worst ass chewing I had ever gotten from grandma" Rob continued

"Oh I know I was a part of it as well" Taylor squeezed out a few more smaller chuckles, he looked to Rob "How's she doing anyway?" he asked

"She doing alright, she misses you. Every time I visit she always asked how you are." Rob retained a smirk on his face

"Yeah I need to get out there sometime and visit with her." Taylor took another bite out of the jerky

"Yeah, she's getting older and time is running low." Rob responded in a quieter tone

Taylor nodded "Mhm"

"Are you seeing anyone?" Rob asked as he chewed on the jerky and changing the subject

"No I'm not, I don't have the time for it unfortunately." Taylor replied "What about you?" Taylor asked

"I've thought about and if I want a family I need to get started I'm getting older and no one wants to date a person that looks like their dad or grandfather" Rob chuckled

Taylor chuckled "You'd be surprised man, who knows they may think you're a sugar daddy."

Robert laughed "Yeah I don't think so" he countered

The fell quiet as the fire warmed their bodies they watched the flames dance in the stone fireplace. They both ended up falling asleep on the couch. However there was a threat looming outside of the house.

 _ **Four hours later…**_

It had been almost four hours since the entire team left the base for their op. They had just returned. Ryan and his team slinked to the command tent. He walked in and Redfield was patiently waiting. He looked up to Ryan from his desk.

"How'd it go?" he asked

"Not well sir" Ryan sighed

"Explain what happened" Redfield spoke in an agitated tone

"Well sir, one of the PMCs was playing with this kid while Taylor and I talked to the insurgent leader. Well the kid detonated a bomb nearly killing Jackson and Allen. I thought that the insurgents planned on killing us and well one thing led to another and we had to kill of the insurgents because their leader tried to kill me and Taylor." Redfield sighed angrily at Ryan "That's not all of it, the PMCs lost one of their men and on the way down the foothill we got caught in the storm and we lost Taylor and a PMC in the storm." Ryan swallowed hard

"You PMCs get out of my office deal with your dead and talk to your boss. The rest of ODA 419 is dismissed, Ryan you are staying right here and were going to have a chat." Redfield spoke in a calm yet fiery tone

The ones asked to leave, left. Ryan knew his ass was going to get chewed over this.

"Damn it Ryan, I put on this op thinking you could handle the task. I guess I was wrong you can't handle a simple buy out. You also can't even keep track of your own man who is possibly dead." Redfield was pissed his face was almost as red as cherry his voice was increasing in volume

"I know sir" Ryan replied

"Do not speak unless I have told you to do so! You've had quite the string of bad luck the past few months for botched operations like this. I have had it up to here! You can't run your team efficiently nor can you keep PMCs under control. I'm breaking up your team, they will fare much better in other units. You are being stripped of team leader and you will find a new team that needs a replacement!" Redfield finish his spiel after the whole base had heard him chewing Ryan out "Best you tell your team what's going on. Dismissed" he spoke in a calmer voice

"Sir, what about Taylor?" Ryan asked desperately

"I've already got someone else working on it now get out my office!" He pointed at the door with anger.

Ryan hung his head low and quietly slinked out of the office just as quietly as he walked in. Meanwhile the PMCs walked back into their barracks Ela watched the two walk in. She could tell something was wrong she looked at the door expecting Robert and Rietter to walk through, he never came. She looked to Mac

"Where's Rietter and Robert?" She asked

Mac gave an angered look "Rietter is fucking dead because of Rob, the bastard got lost in a snow storm."

"They're going to go get him right?" She asked somewhat timidly

"I don't know ask the boss, I have to tell him about what happened." Mac was pissed he stormed off to the showers after dumping his gear in to the chest at the foot of his bunk bed.

Ela wasn't sure how to feel, she was hoping Robert was ok. She missed Rietter but she wasn't too close to him. She looked at the clock and she needed to get some sleep. She crawled into her bed and she was staring at the ceiling. She couldn't quit thinking about Rob, she was really concerned about him. She tried to close her eyes and go to sleep only to have her mind plagued with the possibilities of what could have happened or what is happening to him, she started twiddling her thumbs to try and keep her mind occupied. It didn't work, her mind kept circling back to Robert. She cursed at herself for getting so attached to him. She was starting to become anxious as to why they hadn't heard anything on him since the team got back. She let out an agitated sigh and rolled on her side looking out the window of the barracks. The landscape was rather dull and sandy she watched the sand blow softly in the wind making snakes across the ground. She was able to quiet her mind and slowly drift to sleep.

Mac was at his employer's office it had been maybe forty minutes since had gotten back to base and showered. He had just finished explaining to his boss what had happened on the op. Mac looked at his boss there was visible frustration on his face.

"So what do we do now?" Mac asked

"We wait, Redfield has S n' R looking for them we may not know anything until way late in the day if at all." His boss replied with a sigh

 _ **Eight hours later…**_

Rob and Taylor woke up in a cave in makeshift prison cells. Rob grabbed his head trying to sooth the splitting headache he had. He sat up with a groan of pain. He looked around taking in his surroundings the cave was dark and dingy. There was light coming from lanterns lying about in variety of places. Above all else the cave was cold his breath turned to mist instantly. He wrapped his arms around himself to try and stay warm. He was stripped of his gear, he was left with only his T shirt and Khaki cargo pants to combat the cold. Looked to his left and saw Taylor sitting the corner of his cell trying to keep warm. He was down to just his fatigues, the lucky bastard had sleeves to help fight cool air. Robert scooted over to the wall of his cell.

"Where are we T?" Rob asked quietly

"I don't know, they must've got us while we were sleeping." Taylor replied rubbing his arms trying to warm them.

"Fuck" Rob quietly exclaimed

"I haven't seen anyone come by since I woke up." Taylor informed "If it's Al Qaeda then they will beat the ever living crap out of us for information. That includes water boarding."

Rob looked to his brother with some fear, he had never had to through SERE class. He only went through a basic survival class. Taylor could see the panic in his eyes.

"Look if they do anything to you just focus one thing that you want to fight for, whether it be me, Grandma, Poland, whatever it is focus on it and don't break no matter what." Taylor had an intense look in his eyes.

Rob had a chill pass through his body and he nodded "ok" spoke quietly

"We'll get out of this, I promise" Taylor assured

Rob leaned his back against the wall of his cell and brought his knees up to his chest to keep warm. The two were quiet, both were taking in the current situation. Taylor was trying to formulate a plan of escape, there were way too many variables at play. The two perked up when they heard footsteps heading their way. They were speaking in Russian, Taylor only knew a little Russian. He was able to make out a few words such as: I don't care and just get me what I want. He knew that was bad, the footsteps became louder and there was quite a few sets of them. There was a man whistling a tune, he was calm. Not more than a minute later four men rounded the corner with a smile. The leader of the small group was the first to into view. He was short but stocky, he had a red shemagh wrapped around his head keeping his ears and head warm. He had a nice and thick jacket on with long pants. He smiled at the captives.

"Cold in there?" he asked with a smile, he had a thick Arabic accent

Both Taylor and Rob gave him looks of disdain as looked at him. Only making him chuckle

"Not very chatty are we?" He asked the smile remained, he only got silence in response. "That's fine we'll make you talk one way or another. The question is, who do we start with?" He looked over both Taylor and Rob

"You look like the tough one, we'll start with you." The man smiled and gave waved his men over

Taylor stood up as the men slowly opened the cage, one man had his AK drawn to deter him from fighting back. One man grabbed Taylor's right arm. Taylor delivered a hard left hook to the terrorist's temple. The other terrorist in the cell quickly hit Taylor in the face, he grabbed Taylor by his hair pulling him down, and the terrorist sent his knee into Taylor's gut. Taylor grunted and gasped for air as he fell to his knees. He coughed some trying to get air back into his lungs. The man that was punched stood up and shook his head to reorient himself before returning the favor that Taylor gave him.

The leader chuckled "This is going to be fun." He kept his smile.

They dragged Taylor out of his cell and they took him to the other side of the 'cell block' and they tied his wrists to either side of his head to what was essentially a cross. He watched the four men ready their tools. Taylor mentally prepared himself for the beating he was going to take. Robert couldn't do anything but watch he kept a neutral expression on his face. The leader of the little group smiled at Taylor.

"So what were you and your friend doing on the mountainside?" the leader asked

"Going for a hike" Taylor replied

"You think you're funny, yeah?" he asked with a smile before delivering a gut punch

Taylor grunted and gasped for air again. He had a smile on his face as he looked at the terrorist before him. The leader smiled back and delivered a hard blow to the side of Taylor's head. Taylor recoiled after the blow, he shook his head to shake off the hit.

"What were you doing on the mountain?" the leader asked again

"Like I said we were taking a hike." Taylor replied again

The leader took the AK from his subordinate and he hit Taylor in the gut multiple times with the stock of the rifle. Knocking the wind out the American, Taylor went limp in his binds as he tried to catch his breath. He was panting softly he hoisted his head up to look at the terrorists and he smiled.

"I'm tougher than you think you bastards" Taylor spoke in a breathless voice

The leader chuckled "Oh I was hoping you would say that." The man smiled at his prisoner.

The leader grabbed for a pair of bolt cutters and held them up and looked at Taylor and smiled. The leader brought the cutters back and he swung the head of the cutters down and hard. Delivering the heavy blow to Taylor's head. Taylor let out a loud grunt he looked at the floor and he couldn't see straight, he shook his head trying to break out of the funk however it did nothing for him. He blinked a couple of times trying to get his bearings. The terrorist leader lifted Taylor's head by his chin. The leader smiled at his prisoner.

"The pain will only grow from here, make it easy on yourself and tell me what you were doing on the side of the mountain." The Leader continued

Taylor looked at his captor with disgust, he was panting. "I was fucking your mother or was it your sister? I can't tell anymore."

The leader gave an angered look and he took the bolt cutters and delivered a powerful blow to Taylor's knee. Making the American scream in agony there were tears coming out of his eyes. Rob looked at his brother with concern in his eyes. Taylor has always had a strong resolve and a somewhat high pain tolerance. To see him in pain was more than scary to Rob.

"Feel like talking now or do I need to step it up higher?" the leader asked

"Come on show me what you got" Taylor spoke breathlessly and in pain

The leader gave his signature smirk "Let's take him to the other room and show him how we treat scum like him."

The other terrorists untied the battered soldier and they slowly dragged him away and deeper into the cavern. Rob could only watch as they were about to cause his brother a great deal of pain. He didn't know what to think of his current situation. He wanted to wake from this terrible nightmare, he pinched himself to see if it would be enough to wake himself up sadly he didn't wake up. He stayed in the corner of his cell trying to call himself and to stay warm. He had a chill run down his spine as he curled up against the wall. Robert was desperate and he started to pray, he wasn't much of a religious person but if someone was willing to listen he was going to speak. He had his head bowed with his knees covering the front of his head. He stayed in that position for a few minutes before raising his head and resting it against the rock that made the wall of the cave. It felt like hours had went by, Robert was starting to feel anxious. He sat in his cell listening to every little noise that echoed through cave. It was every bit of forty five minutes before the terrorists dragged a terribly beaten and unconscious Taylor back to his cell. Rob watched the men lay Taylor down on the floor of the cave. The leader looked at Robert with steely eyes and the man smirked before walking away with his men. Rob looked over to his brother his face was badly bruised there were bruises on his wrists from the restraints. His head looked like it was wet the top of his shirt was also drenched. He reached his arm through the bars to touch his brother. He felt a shallow breath leave his brother's chest, he let out a soft sigh of relief.

* * *

Redfield was in his office speaking with the leader with his pararescue team. The team was looking for the missing soldier and contractor all night and a good portion of the morning. Redfield was visibly upset that one of his soldiers a Special Forces operator was missing.

"Sir, we can't find them. Either they got buried in the snow storm or they have been taken prisoner by Al Qaeda in which case it will be months before we even find the bodies. I have done everything in my power to find them, everything from IR cameras to a fucking heart beat scanner. I'm sorry sir we'll go back looking for 'em after we get some food and rest." The team leader spoke with sympathy and failure in his voice

Redfield sighed "Get some grub and rest then get back out there, four enough?"

"Yeah four hours will be enough." The team leader replied

"I'll see about splicing you a drone to help." Redfield continued

The leader nodded before walking back out. Redfield sighed and leaned back in his chair, he ran his hand down his face and he looked to the ceiling in his office. He was almost begging for mercy, he had a week of nothing but headaches and frustration and this was making his migraine even worse. He looked back down at his desk looking at the various forms that covered it, he looked at Taylor's dossier. He started flipping through it looking for a next of kin. Ela was outside of the General's door. She softly knocked on the door. Redfield sighed again and looked up from his soldier's dossier.

"Come in" he spoke

Ela quietly walked up to the desk "Sir, I was wondering if you had found any trace of our missing friend"

"Are you one of the contractors?" he asked

Ela quietly nodded in reply

"Sadly no. My teams are scouring the side of the mountain looking for your man and mine. When I know something your employer will know something, I'm sorry I'm doing everything in my power to find them. Is your missing man your boyfriend?" Redfield replied and asked

"No, he's just a good friend. Sorry for bothering you general." With that Ela left the office

She left the command center with her head hanging low, she was hoping for at least some sort of closure. She sighed continuing her walk back to her boss's office. She knocked walked in to the office, her employer looked at her.

"What's bothering you?" he asked with a concerned tone

"I want to terminate my contract" She spoke

Her employer gave a surprised look "Ok, well take a seat and we'll discuss your departure."

 _ **3 months later…**_

Taylor and Robert hadn't been found by the pararescue team. They had been tortured for almost four hours every day. Their bodies are badly bruised and marked. They gone through everything from a simple beating to water boarding and electric shock. Robert broke after the second week of torture. They had Robert tied to a cross in the cave prison he was shirtless and his body had bruises all over, they had broken his left arm and they loved to hit it or put it above his head for fun. Taylor on the other hand being the tough fucker that he was, was stuffed into an oil barrel that had a water that went up to his neck. There was a small cut out with iron bars on it for air to get into the barrel. His face was almost all the way against the bars trying to get all of the air he could. Both were tired and they wanted to die, they hadn't slept in days. Their hair was gnarly and grown out as were their beards. The leader of the terrorist group came into the room with a smile on his face he stopped by Taylor's barrel.

"How's the water in there?" He laughed

Taylor didn't respond he just looked at the terrorist with glassed and tired eyes. The leader smacked the top of the barrel knocking some rust flakes into the water. The leader walked over to Robert and smacked his left arm as hard as he could, making Robert scream with pain. The leader chuckled and delivered a gut punch knocking the wind out of PMC. Causing Robert to yelp has he bent down stretching his arm causing him more pain.

"These past few months have been so much fun haven't they?" The leader commented

"Fuck you" Robert spoke in a soft whisper as he stood back up again

The leader smacked Robert's arm again making the man scream. There were tears coming out of Robert's eyes from the pain. His arm was hurting just sitting at a ninety degree angle at the elbow. He was sweating from every orifice because of the pain, he was softly panting. The leader kept his smile.

"Fortunately your usefulness has ran out for the both of you so now I don't have to babysit you all of the time. So we are going to set you free in a few hours." The leader kept his smile and smacked Robert's face.

The leader left them as they were. Robert looked to the barrel that his brother was stuffed in.

"Do you think they will kill us?" Rob asked in a weak and pained voice

"Yes, probably" Taylor replied with a tired and worn out voice

"I love you brother, I'm sorry I got us in this mess. If I didn't freeze with that kid and if I paid more attention we would be at grandma's sucking down her lamb chop." Robert half smiled

Taylor shared the smile it faded quickly "I love you, too. We aren't dying here I promise that I will get us out I don't care how it happens we will be walking out of here alive." Taylor spoke

Robert just nodded, he knew deep down that they were going to die. He looked the floor with little no hope. He felt utterly defeated, all he wanted was to kill this terrorist dirtbag that treated him and his brother like shit and he really wanted to go home and sleep on a real bed after eating real food. Taylor wanted the same things, he really wanted out of the barrel that he was forced to live in. The two had accepted their fate though they dare not speak what they thought, neither wanted to destroy the other's hope. It had felt like hours since the terrorist leader spoke to them both they sat in their binds patiently waiting for their execution. _*BOOM*_ the explosion echoed through the cave causing the brothers to jump from the sudden noise. The report of small arms fire could be heard echoing through the halls inside the cavern. Taylor tried to see what was going on around them as adrenaline had flooded his system.

"Robbie what's going on?" Taylor spoke

"I don't know hopefully its S n' R" Rob responded as he turned his head to look at the entrance of their cell block.

The gun fire continued to echo, it slowly got closer and closer and closer. They could hear the shells clacking against the rock floor of the cavern. There were many shouts in a variety of languages. The sound of heavy footsteps came down the hall. Sure enough some terrorists were making their final stand in the cell block. They shouted to one another calling out reloads and if they hit anyone. They dropped one by one, a few more ran deeper into the cavern. The rescuers came right around the corner. It was a group of UN soldiers they looked to be from the Middle East. One of the younger soldiers of the detachment walked over to Robert and spoke something in his native tongue.

"English?" Rob asked weakly

The young man nodded quickly and waved over one of his comrades. This solider looked to be older possibly a sergeant or something.

"Did you see where they went?" the sergeant asked in a rushed tone

"They went deeper down the hall there. Can you cut me loose?" Rob answered

The sergeant nodded he barked at four of his men to chase the terrorist that had ran. He pulled a knife and cut Robert's left arm loose. His arm dropped quickly to his side, he howled in pain. The sergeant cut Rob's right arm and he slowly helped the Pole down to the ground.

"My men will take care of you."

The sergeant looked back and barked at his men in their tongue. The sergeant was about to take off Robert grabbed the man's arm.

"Another one is in the barrel" Robert explained as the subordinates of the kind sergeant gave him water from their canteen

The sergeant saw the man in the barrel and he pulled the top open and called his last subordinate over to pull Taylor out of his barrel, they laid him on the floor. Taylor sucked in all of the fresh air that he could. The sergeant pulled a blanket from his pack and draped it over Taylor's wet body.

"How long have you two been here?" The sergeant to the room

"Three months" Taylor replied with his weak and shaking voice

"Are you Americans?" the sergeant continued to prod

Taylor quietly nodded as he clung to the blanket over his body. He shivered as the cruel and cold air brushed against his body.

"We'll give a call to them as soon as we get the area secure." The sergeant gave a warm smile

"Thank you" Taylor almost whispered as the Sergeant took off down the hall

The UN soldiers started medical treatment to the wounded men. They made Rob a makeshift sling for his busted wing. They gave the men fluids and small bits of MRE. They tended to the wounds with great care and they carefully patched up the cuts on both men. There was a woman screaming at the top of her lungs and shouting multiple curses. Then she fell silent almost seconds after. There were some lower enlisted were moving large metal canisters that had the signature biohazard symbol stamped on the exterior. Taylor looked at it in confusion, he was a little loopy so he figured it was his mind playing tricks. It was maybe ten minutes before the sergeant came back to the freshly released prisoners. He didn't look happy, some of his men took a few of the Al Qaeda members and put them in the cages that once held the Americans. The Sergeant spoke to his men in their native tongue. They carefully picked up Robert and Taylor and escorted them outside to their trucks. As they were on the way out of the cave the UN troopers were planting explosives all over the cave and a particularly young lieutenant escorted a woman to the cages. She looked like she was raped. Both Taylor and Robert looked at each other and shook their heads. They didn't really care, they figured some US soldiers would pick them up. When they got outside they noticed they were at the foot hill of the mountain they were captured on. They both internally shook their heads. There was a Black Hawk that was waiting for something or someone to tell it to move. The sergeant had his men put them in the back of an MRAP. There was a heater running, both Taylor and Robert melted at the warm embrace.

"You were right, we are going to get out of this" Rob smiled softly as drank from the canteen gifted to him

Taylor smiled back as he clung to his blanket "I didn't expect it to go this way, this is much better than what I was planning." His voice was still weak. He looked to Rob slightly concerned "Did you see those biohazard containers?" he asked

"Yeah it looked like Sarin gas and a lot of it, It looked like they were marking them with GPS trackers" Rob replied as he continued to sip out of the canteen.

Taylor figured Rob was right and he left the subject as it was. There was a series of explosions that went off in rapid succession. Both Taylor and Rob looked out the window to see the cave entrance collapsing. Their eyes grew wide after realizing what had just happened. The people inside the cave were going to die from the gas. The lieutenant noticed the men in the MRAP and his heart skipped a beat knowing that they could stick him with life in prison. He walked over to the MRAP. The doors on the back of the MRAP opened up there was a young man he looked to be in his mid-twenties. The same one escorting the woman in cave. He looked to be a lieutenant or a captain. He looked at Rob and Taylor.

"Are you two Americans?" the young man asked

They both nodded in return "What base are you from? How long have you been in captivity?" the lieutenant asked

"FOB Striker we have been captive for three months." Taylor replied

"Awfully convenient that you two were 'captives' and after we completed our raid." The lieutenant remarked

"We are Americans call General Redfield at the base he will tell you that we have been missing for three months." Taylor replied

"I guess we will see if your story checks out." The lieutenant spoke with skepticism

The lieutenant walked over to a radio and made a call to the base. It was a rather short exchange on the radio, the conversation barely lasted five minutes. The lieutenant walked over to his sergeant and the two started to argue. They were speaking in their native tongue, their voices were just short of yelling, of course the sergeant backed down to his superior. He looked at the two men in his MRAP with sympathy. The lieutenant came back to the armored vehicle and yanked Robert and Taylor out of it, he forced them on their knees. The lieutenant looked to his sergeant. Rob and Taylor both complied with actions not wanting to cause any trouble.

"The Sergeant Major says that you both of you went missing. I will take you back your base, but I find it a little odd that neither of you tried to escape. Why should I trust you and not just kill you?" the lieutenant asked

Rob's eyes widened at the word kill, his heart started thumping with adrenaline.

"You can trust us because if they investigate our deaths and they find you, you can be kicked out of the UN." Taylor replied

Lieutenant nodded softly as he took in Taylor's statement "However if we dispose of your bodies no one will know, if you are truly who you say you are."

"Why don't you believe us? I mean look at us" Taylor was almost pleading to the lieutenant

"I don't believe you because you seem untrustworthy. To me it seen suspicious that you both have just miraculously turned up." The lieutenant's tone turned more aggressive.

"Yeah the kind of untrustworthy that kills people with nerve gas." Taylor matched the aggressiveness the best he could

The lieutenant's blood boiled and he grabbed the blanket that Taylor was using pulling the American close. Rob felt he needed to act. He got to his feet and he body checked the lieutenant with his right side knocking the lieutenant to the ground. He fell down on top of the Turkish lieutenant, Rob did his best to try and punch the lieutenant. Taylor jumped onto the lieutenant as well. Taylor was still able to deliver blows however he was so weak that the lieutenant kicked him off. The lieutenant deflected the blow from Rob and pulled out a knife and rammed it into Rob. The blade punctured just below his sternum. Robert gasped as his eyes went wide he slightly coughed in pain and the lieutenant roughly twisted the blade. Rob grunted in pain as he started to bleed the lieutenant took the blade out of Rob. Taylor watched in horror as his brother slowly slumped over and onto the ground. He immediately jumped over to Rob and started putting pressure on his wound. Taylor looked at the lieutenant in shock, the lieutenant smiled back at the man.

"So you are terrorists, if you speak of this day ever again I will kill you." the lieutenant had a truly evil smile on his face

The lieutenant looked at his watch and started to walk to his helicopter. As he passed his sergeant he gave a look.

"Get them back to the American base for proper treatment despite the fact they are terrorists" The lieutenant got in his helicopter with a few of the lower enlisted and flew back to the UN base.

The sergeant waited until the helicopter was long gone. He gathered his men and he spoke to them in their tongue before he knelt down to talk to Taylor.

"Where is your base?" he asked

"Why didn't you stop him? You're lucky I'm not armed and I'm weak otherwise you would be bleeding out in the snow." Taylor spoke with anger

"Look I'm help you if we get to your base we can save your man, help me help you." The sergeant explained and emphasized

Taylor had no other choice but to trust this man. "It's fifty miles south of here."

"Ok, help me load him and if we move quick we can be there within the hour." the sergeant continued

They loaded Rob into the back of the MRAP. A few of the sergeants most trusted men got in the armored vehicle with them. They started triage on Robert. Taylor clutched his brother's hand tightly and he looked him in the eyes.

"Don't you dare fucking leave me. Stay focused on me look in my eyes we are going to get you patched up." Taylor refused to let anything but defiance and confidence show

Rob only nodded as he laid his head back holding tightly to Taylor's hand. The two were going to fight till bitter end.

 _ **1 hour later…**_

They had arrived at the base the UN sergeant had kept throttle down the entire trip he refused to stop for anything other than the front gate at the base. They had gotten to just outside of the medical facility before they opened the doors to the MRAP. The sergeant and the guards of the base only found Taylor clutching the body of his brother. The other UN soldier's solemnly climbed out of the MRAP. Taylor has sobbing he had his brother's head resting on the left side of his chest, he had Robert laid back onto him and his legs were on either side of the corpse. He was brushing the hair back out of Rob's face. Rob had a calm expression on his face his eyes stuck open. There was blood all over the floor of the MRAP. The sergeant hung his head low as he watched Taylor cling to his brother's body. Everyone could see the tears rolling out of Taylor's eyes and down Rob's forehead. Everyone was quiet. A nurse climbed into the back of the MRAP and she knelt down next to Taylor. The knee of her scrubs were becoming stained with blood. She put her hand on Taylor's hand.

"Let me take him." She spoke quietly

"No" Taylor closed his eyes as he clung tighter to his brother

"Sir, please let me take him. I promise we will take care of him." the nurse continued

"Fuck off, he stays with me." Taylor's voice shook violently as he held his brother as tight as he could

The sergeant climbed into the MRAP and got on the opposite side of the nurse. "I never got your name, what is it?" the sergeant asked

"Taylor, this is Robert." Taylor replied

"Taylor, my name is Osman Nadeem. Let this woman take Robert. She only wants to clean him up and help you. Trust her." He spoke in a soothing

Taylor took a breath and he gave his brother one last tight squeeze before letting go. The nurse dragged Robert out of the MRAP and put him on a stretcher. Osman helped Taylor out of the MRAP and they took him into the medical station. Taylor couldn't stop himself from crying. Osman and a few lower enlisted Americans helped Taylor into a room for the doctor to look at him. Osman waited in the room for the doctor with Taylor to make sure didn't do anything stupid. Taylor looked at the floor only thoughts of Robert plagued his mind.

"I have to get back to my base before long otherwise they will wonder where I'm at. I'm really sorry about your friend, I didn't want kill either of you." Osman whispered

"I'm gonna kill your CO and there is not a single thing that will stop from doing it." Taylor spoke with a voice filled with vengeance and tears still remaining in his eyes.

Osman didn't say anything in return luckily the doctor came into the room with a warm smile and a diffusing aura. Osman got up out of his chair and headed for the door and he looked at Taylor one last time.

"I'm sorry" was all that he said before leaving

* * *

Ela was getting ready leave for Poland as her contract had just expired. She had heard about a team of UN operators had brought back two Americans. She was curious to see who they brought back. She really hoped it was Robert, she didn't want to leave without saying goodbye. She walked into the medical facility and asked for the names of who was brought back.

"Nurse, who was brought back with the UN troopers?" she asked

"Two guys one named Robert Korzac and Taylor Korzac." The nurse replied

"Can I see Rob?" Ela asked, she was relieved to hear Rob was back

The nurse nodded "Yeah, follow me"

Ela followed the nurse to a back room, she saw her employer was already there. She got over to the table and her heart immediately dropped to the floor. Looked at Rob and shook her head. Her employer looked over at her.

"Ela what are you doing here? You're going to miss your flight you need to go." He spoke with a little worry

"I heard that Robert made it back and I thought he was alive and I wanted to say goodbye before I went home." she replied quietly

"Well I'm sorry that he can't say it back." He countered

"I am too. Can I have a minute alone with him?" she asked

"Yeah" he replied before leaving him

She rested her hand on his shoulder and she looked at him peacefully resting. She wouldn't let herself cry but she had a small smile work its way onto her face.

"I always told you that you were going to bite it before me." she softly chuckled with tears starting to well up "I'm going home now to join GROM, I really wish that you tell me goodbye or crack some joke. I'm going to miss that, I hope you can find peace in which ever place you end up. I have a feeling that you ended up in hell you bastard." She gave another small chuckle as she could feel a tear cascade down her face. "Look at you, you're making laugh and cry from the grave you ass." She couldn't help but smile "I'm going to miss my flight if you waste any more of my time. So I guess this is…" She swallowed hard and wiped the tears from her eyes "goodbye Robert, I really hope you can find your peace." She gave his shoulder a friendly squeeze, she desperately wanted to hug him. She wiped her eyes and walked off. She swore to herself that so long as she was in the military that she was going to keep her distance from her team members not wanting to feel this kind of pain again.

* * *

The doctor had finished his exam on Taylor and he was waiting for the head doctor's opinion on to release him or not. Ryan who was still on base waiting to be assigned to another team. He had gotten access to the examination room, he slowly opened the door and he saw Taylor sitting on the table wrapped in a blanket drinking coffee or some warm liquid. He sat down in the chair across from Taylor and looked at the beaten and battered man in front of him.

"I'm sorry" was all that Ryan could manage to say

Taylor took a sip of his beverage and looked at the floor sorrow consumed his mind.

"Ryan my brother is dead, I have bigger issues than being mad at you." Taylor spoke quietly

"Taylor I am sorry for your brother and that I left you behind." Ryan spoke with sympathy

Taylor was partially ignoring Ryan as he was wrapped up in his own thoughts. He wondered why the rest of his ODA team wasn't there to see him. He looked at Ryan with slight confusion.

"Where is the rest of the team?" Taylor asked

Ryan looked at him and sighed softly "Taylor ODA 419 was dissolved. Allen and Rameriez were transferred back into the 75th and Jackson terminated his contract and joined the Marines. I'm waiting to be transferred to another ODA team."

Taylor felt anger start to bubble up inside of him. His rage was getting the better of him, he clenched his fists tightly and he worked his jaw. His breathing started to pick up, he couldn't speak because of how mad he was. His knuckles were a bright white.

"Who dissolved the team?" Taylor asked with his voice in a new intensity

"Redfield, it was the morning after you went missing" Ryan replied quietly

"Things need to fucking change" Taylor spoke out of anger

"Taylor relax you are in a fragile state. Your mind and body need to time to heal." Ryan spoke in an attempt to try and calm Taylor down. "If you need anything and I mean absolutely anything let me know." Ryan put looked at his beaten team member with sympathy. Fortunately the doctor came back into the room defusing it yet again.

It was another ten or so minutes before the doctor decided to give him a room in the medical building. They laid Taylor on the bed and hooked him up to various monitors. Ryan obviously didn't want to abandon his teammate again. Redfield was waiting for the doctor to get Taylor settled into his room to go see his missing soldier. It wasn't long before Redfield walked in the door. He had a look of relief and determination. Ryan as usual stood up and saluted until Redfield waved him down. Redfield looked at Taylor he gave a small smile.

"It's good to see you Taylor" Redfield spoke in a rather chipper tone

Taylor didn't even bother to make eye contact with his CO, Taylor let out a sigh. He was utterly crushed. Redfield worked his jaw a little in frustration

"Taylor who did this?" Redfield asked

That snapped Taylor's train of thought, he looked to Redfield "Do you mean who killed my brother or who captured us?" Taylor asked with anger

Redfield was shocked by the anger in Taylor's voice "Both would be nice"

"We were captured by Al Qaeda and rescued by a small detachment of UN troopers. Their lieutenant killed five or six fighters and a non-combatant with nerve gas. He also called into the base here and who ever answered the radio said that we were dead and the lieutenant killed my brother thinking we were terrorists" Taylor's anger remained

Redfield gave a look of confusion "Are you sure it was the UN?"

"Who else where bright blue fucking helmets and has the letters U and N plastered on their helmets and vehicles?" Taylor replied with sarcasm and anger

Redfield sighed "Well there is nothing we can do to avenge your brother. The nerve gas is a crime but without physical evidence your statement is worthless. I'm sorry Taylor."

"Believe me I fucking know that _you_ can't do anything but there is always something that can be done." Taylor was boiling with frustration and anger

"Taylor get some rest you need it, I'll see what I can do for you and your brother." Redfield replied

Redfield walked out of the room so he could speak to the doctor about Taylor's condition. The older general looked to the younger doctor.

"What kind of damage does he have?" Redfield asked the head doctor

"Well for starters, he has a couple busted ribs, a lot of bruising, he had some internal bleeding at one point his liver and appendix are showing signs of trauma, and he is quite malnourished and dehydrated, that's just the top of the list. Mentally wise I would expect some PTSD maybe night terrors but it's too early to tell. I personally would say to discharge him or to send him home and in a few months have an evaluation to see if he is fit for duty." The doctor replied

Redfield nodded "keep a close eye on him for the next couple of days and then send me a report and we'll go from there."

"Sounds good sir" the doctor smiled and went back to his rotations

Redfield went back to his office to get the proper forms ready in case Taylor needed a medical discharge. He really didn't want to let Taylor go but if it was necessary then he would discharge him.

* * *

 **July 1, 2009**

 **Denver, Colorado USA 1200 hours**

Taylor was sitting at a café eating a bagel with cream cheese and bacon bits. He was feeling good for once in a long time since he had been medically discharged. He had been reading up on many conspiracies and huge government screw ups. He had a very strong distaste for the governments of the world and he wasn't the only one. He had managed to gather a particularly small group of friends that thought the same way he did. He got a job at Colt and he was making quite a good bit of money. He was in a t shirt and jeans, he was looking at the TV. It was the news and some reporter was talking about a string of bank robberies and how the thieves only stole the unmarked bills and they wore White Masks. He had a small smile as took a sip of his coffee

" _Fools, they spend too much time meandering on the meaningless to even notice the bigger threat to come" he spoke to himself_

It wasn't more than a minute later that Ryan stood next to the table with a huge smile on his face.

"What are looking at there stranger?" Ryan asked

Taylor turned his head to the familiar voice and smiled. "Ryan it's good to see you again, please take a seat."

Ryan sat down across from his friend. "Life has been treating you very well I can see"

"Very well, I'm working at Colt as a military advisor." Taylor spoke with pride

"That's impressive, how did you land that job?" Ryan asked

"I was able to pull a few strings and get myself in there. What about you where are you working?" Taylor asked

Ryan let out a huff "I'm working at a factory now, it's just so wonderful" his voice loaded with sarcasm

"Sounds like it, you're probably wondering why I brought you here." Taylor spoke

"More than to just reminisce?" Ryan countered

"I have run into a good bit of money and I'm starting an organization and I need your help to get it going I don't have too many people with experience in a firefight it also pays very well." Taylor added

"Really? You starting a PMC? I can't believe it." Ryan smiled

"Not so much a PMC but it is of militaristic nature" Taylor replied

Ryan was intrigued "Then what is it? How much are we talking?"

"It's a military/government consulting group. As for pay how does sixty thousand a year sound?" Taylor answered

"That sounds great I've been wanting to get out of Denver for a while now." Ryan added

Taylor smiled "Good, I'll have the uniform sent to your apartment."

Ryan and he shook on their deal. Ryan finally ordered a coffee and small sandwich. Ryan was curious as to how Taylor was holding up despite it being seven months since his brother's death.

"How have you and your family been holding up, T?" Ryan asked carefully

Taylor took in a breath as he thought about Rob "My family is doing well and I could be better. I miss him a lot." He paused "However Robbie's death taught me a lot"

Ryan looked at him quizzically "What did it teach you?"

"It taught me that the world has grown complacent and the governments don't care who they kill whether it be an ally or a foe. The public is being lied to, thinking their government cares for them, when in fact our leaders are building a new world order under our noses. Which is why everything has been so peaceful and no one really questions their leaders. Thus causing complacency, I intend to be the one to cause the shake up" Taylor spoke calmly

Ryan smirked "You sound like a fanatic"

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. That UN lieutenant really changed my perspective on the world." Taylor replied with a soft smile

He and Ryan sat talked about a variety of subjects, they were at the café for roughly an hour just catching up on lost time. It wasn't until around 2pm that they finally left the café. Ryan got back to his apartment to find a green trench coat and white mask. He almost laughed because of how stupid the mask was. He shook his head until he had a text come through from Taylor and that there was an op for tonight. Ryan replied saying that he would be there for it.

 **July 2, 2009**

 **Ankara, Turkey 0030 hours**

Taylor and his small team had landed at a civilian airport. There was two SUVs that were awaiting the team. Ryan obviously rode in Taylor's SUV. They drove down the streets, every light passing by quietly Ryan looked to Taylor.

"So what are doing here exactly?" Ryan asked

"A lieutenant from the Turkish military asked us to help evaluate some of his men and their training" Taylor lied

They pulled up to a town house close to the suburbs of the city. They parked on the street in front of the house. Taylor shut off the engine to the SUV, he looked to his team members.

"Masks on, we don't need to be seen nor do we need to be heard" Taylor informed

All of the members pulled up their hoods and they put their ivory masks on. They grabbed their AUGs, Commandos, and L85s. They got out of the SUV and the team of six men split into two teams of three. One team to the front of the building the other the rear. They quietly broke into the house. Ryan thought it was odd that they were arriving at such an odd time and getting in in such an odd way. He figured that it was just so the government didn't appear weak to possible enemies. The teams quietly entered the building and they were checking their corners and every room. They slowly went to the second floor Taylor looked to Ryan.

"Stay down here and guard the first floor while we talk to our client." Taylor

"Got it" Ryan replied as he set up on the ground floor

Taylor walked into the master bedroom where his loyal Masks had this family bound and gagged. Taylor smiled at this lieutenant that was tied to a chair. His wife and his two son's that were no older than 7 were tied as well. They were all terrified not knowing what to think or expect out of the masked men. There was a camcorder set up in the room it wasn't on just yet but it would be soon. Taylor looked at this lieutenant through his mask.

"I will let you speak so long as you remain quiet. Any loud noise will result in the death of your family, do you understand?" Taylor spoke quietly

The lieutenant looked at the man in front of him with disgust and hatred. This man especially hated cowards and these masked men in front of him were cowards and they didn't want their faces to be seen. He didn't bother to answer this coward's question, he continued to stare at this masked man. He refused to show any emotion. Taylor sighed and he smacked the man hard with his handgun. The lieutenant grunted and he turned his damning gaze back to Taylor.

"I asked a question, now answer me" Taylor spoke with authority

The lieutenant looked at his wife who had a terrified look on her face. He nodded softly answering Taylor's question. Taylor smiled beneath his mask he took the gag from the lieutenant's mouth. The lieutenant stayed quiet not wanting to bring harm to his family. Taylor slowly took off his mask and dropped his hood. The lieutenant recognized that face almost immediately, the lieutenant's jaw dropped to the floor and he was utterly speechless. Taylor had a huge smile on his face.

"Remember me?" Taylor asked

"How? Osman said that you were thrown into prison" the lieutenant spoke with fear

"Osman lied, after you killed my brother and he got me back to my home base. I was discharged and I noticed that the world needed to change and I wanted to start with you. I have wanted to make you suffer for so long." Taylor gave a sadistic grin

The lieutenant was baffled at how the man in front of him was still alive. Taylor looked to his right and nodded. Another Masked man took off his mask, it was Osman. The lieutenant was utterly confused with no idea of what to think or say.

"W-what are you doing with this man? He is a terrorist just like I told all of those months ago." The lieutenant was terrified

"You showed me that the world needs to change and we are starting with you." Osman replied

"What are you going to do?" The lieutenant asked timidly

"You will suffer as I have suffered" Taylor smiled sadistically

He pulled a handgun and put a suppressor on the barrel. He put on his mask and he looked at the lieutenant and one of the Masks turned on the camcorder.

"We are a part of the White Mask organization, I know none of you have heard of us before today. However that has obviously changed, I didn't want to go this far but unfortunately I had to. We have noticed that the world seems to be ok with corruption in its governments and the citizens under those governments will serve them blindly without question. It's time that everyone sees what happens when their government doesn't give a damn about them. This is only the beginning. This man here" Taylor pointed to the young lieutenant "Started it all when he killed by brother without mercy despite the fact we were Americans fresh from captivity. He is a UN lieutenant who was following the orders of his precious governments. He killed a woman who was unarmed with nerve gas along with her family. He will be the first to pay his dues."

Taylor looked dead on at the camera as he grabbed the wife and forced her on her knees infront of lieutenant.

"Any last words?" Taylor asked

The lieutenant looked at his wife, she opened her mouth to speak only to have a round blow out the front of her head. Her blood covered the lieutenant. The children started crying after seeing their mother executed.

"You bastard, I'm fucking kill you!" The lieutenant shouted

Taylor immediately gagged the man again. "We don't want to be waking the neighbors do we?" Taylor grinned

Taylor grabbed the lieutenant's children and he put them on either side of their mother's corpse. The lieutenant was crying he didn't want his children dead. He fought his restraints the best could trying to break free and stop this murdering coward. The children were crying and looking to their father for help. Taylor looked at the demon spawn of this lieutenant.

"I hope you told them that you love them." Taylor gave a grin under his mask

The lieutenant did his best to say I love you through his gag. He cried as he was powerless to stop this inbred terrorist from doing whatever he wanted. Taylor looked the lieutenant dead in the eyes and he pulled the trigger twice and two bodies hit the floor. The lieutenant looked at Taylor with pure rage in his eyes. Tears flowed down his cheeks as he shook with anger. Taylor grabbed the lieutenant's hair and forced him to look at the camera.

"He is only the first of many to pay for his sins. The rest of the world will follow soon." Taylor spoke as he put a round through the side of the lieutenant's head

"We are the White Masks we will not stop, we will not falter, and we will purge the corruption out of this world one step and one life at a time." Taylor spoke with vengeance in his voice

With that the camera was shut off. Taylor looked to his men "Pack it up we'll head home and plan our next move."

Taylor's crew packed up the camera gear and they left the bodies where they were. They came down stairs where Ryan was waiting patiently as he looked out the windows admiring the city. Taylor smiled at his old friend.

"Come on, we're done here" Taylor walked out the door with Ryan close behind.

They piled into the SUVs again and they made their way to the airport to leave. Ryan noticed small splotches of blood on Taylor's hands.

"Did they take the contract or what?" Ryan asked

"No our price to high, he said that they were going to do it themselves." Taylor replied not bothering to look at his friend

"Why do you have blood on your hands?" Ryan asked

"The guy tried to fight me so I broke his nose and that was it." Taylor replied

"Okay" Ryan replied skeptically

He had a feeling that Taylor was lying about what had happened in the room. He didn't want to push the subject to much further he wanted to see where how far Taylor's ideals had corrupted him. He remained quiet for a majority of journey home mainly observing the people around him.

 **December 1, 2015**

 **Location Unknown, 1200 hours**

Taylor was quite the busy man, he had spent years negotiating with other terror groups and gaining their trust. He spent a good chunk of change to reactivate the base that he found in the mountainside. Ryan was mainly kept in the dark about most of the ops that the terror group was pulling. Ryan was only useful to Taylor because he still had connections to a lot of veterans who thought similarly to Taylor himself. He had been using Ryan to drive up the recruitment into his force of terrorists. Keegan, Donny, and John had actually found the Masks shortly after their escaped in Turkey. They proved to be insanely useful for the operations. Taylor used them to scout out the attack they were carrying out today. Taylor was sitting in his office with his feet up on the desk. He was watching the TV quietly, he was waiting for a special broadcast to come through. He quietly drank his whiskey as waited for the attack to commence. He had a long range radio on his desk, he pulled it up and depressed the speech button.

"How much longer until the attack?" Taylor asked

"Forty seconds" John replied

Taylor set down his radio and sure enough forty seconds later, plumes of yellow gas started to fill the air and his men began to open fire on the college students. Not more than a minute after the attack began cops began to arrive. Unfortunately they were useless cannon fodder they were gunned down so quick they couldn't help or even wound one of the masked men. There was perimeter that quickly formed around the school grounds by police. They tried to assist anyone who was able to get out and that was effected. First responders did what they could to set up trauma centers and evacuate the campus. However the Masks gunned down anyone who tried to escape. Taylor picked up his radio again.

"Donny begin the broadcast, it's time that the world knows who we are." Taylor commanded

"Splicing into data feeds…initiating override…beginning broadcast" Donny spoke

Sure enough the TV in front of Taylor cut over to him murdering the lieutenant and his family. The broadcast lasted roughly ten minutes if that. The news teams immediately began dissecting the footage and blabbering on about how terrible it was. Taylor smiled at all of chaos that he caused. He never really wanted to result to this but there was no other way. There was still a live feed from Bartlett going as the broadcasters continued to speak. This was the point of no return, Taylor knew that he was going to be branded a terrorist and his name would forever be stained with the blood of innocence. It was maybe another two or three hours, Taylor's radio lit up again with chatter.

"This Hades break" John called on the radar

"Go ahead Hades" Taylor replied

"There was line sent through the chain calling for a special military unit called…What was it Keegan?...Rainbow a spec ops group by the name of Rainbow. They claim to be here in five hours to deal with our men. Do you want us to pull out?" John asked

"No we'll see what this team is made of, pull back our better men and cut some of our losses. Tell some of them put their vests. John have you heard of this group before?" Taylor asked

"No I haven't which tells me a lot. They will more than likely be some of the best shooters so your guys better be ready for a fight." John replied as he and Keegan watched their allies bring havoc over the college.

"Roger that, tell our better men to pull back." Taylor continued to watch the news broadcast and Ryan came smashing through the door obviously with rage.

"YOU DIDN'T TELL ME WE WERE KILLING CIVILIANS!" Ryan shouted in Taylor's face

Taylor pulled a hand gun out from under his desk and aimed at Ryan. "Ryan you would've never helped me had I told what I was going to do. I needed you for connections especially your military ones."

"We both know that you won't kill me. What do my connections have to do with anything?" Ryan asked a little calmer seeing the weapon aimed at him

"They gave me man power which I severely needed. I didn't want to kill kids, in order to make my point clear I had to. It's the only way they will listen." Taylor paused "Ryan is this is moment where you need to pick a side, if you aren't then you are against us. I'll give you sixty seconds to choose." Taylor continued

Ryan silently thought. He wanted to help his friend but he also couldn't betray is principles or his oath. He was thinking hard and his minute of thought felt like thirty seconds.

"Have you made your choice?" Taylor asked calmly

"Yeah, I have. I'm not with you." Ryan replied

Taylor fired one round and it splattered Ryan's brains all over the wall in his office. Taylor shook his head in disappointment. He was hoping that he wouldn't have to kill Ryan but he couldn't afford to have loose ends or another enemy that could rat him out to the CIA. He felt bad that he had to kill a former friend but it had to be done. He sighed and slumped back into his chair as his men picked up Ryan's corpse.

 _ **Present Day…**_

Taylor sighed as he reflected on the chain of events that had brought him to now. He looked at the floor just in front of his desk. He could vividly see Ryan's body splayed out on the floor and the blood flowing out of his head onto the carpet. He felt alone, he knew it was one of the many side effects of being the leader of a terrorist organization. He looked back to his monitors and watched his men run through their courses. He could see his reflection in the monitors, he had tired eyes. He took a good look at himself and he could see how aged he was. He saw in his eyes just how numb and lonely he was. He couldn't believe it had been almost ten years since he started this reign of terror. His mind was plagued with the families that he had destroyed. His mind quickly snapped back to the UN and he felt rage bubble up inside of him yet again. He wasn't going to let this opportunity slip away. He was going to show the world just how powerful the White Mask organization is and he was going to avenge his brother and Ryan by killing as many diplomats as he could. The world would feel his rage.


	29. Chapter 29: The Calm before the Storm

_**Chapter 29: The Calm before the Storm**_

 **September 9, 2018**

 **1900 hours Hereford**

"Contact! Left side!" A soldier shouted

"Watch the flank!" another called

The sound of rifles filled the air, smoke was covering the battlefield obscuring vision, bodies and spent brass littered the floor. It was a stalemate neither side wanting to give. Bullets made the air crack in protest as they flew by. The soldiers were covering a couple of suits from the gunfire.

"Get the extract here now!" a third soldier called

A round went through the left side of her chest. She fell to the floor with a hard thud.

"Fuck! Close that hole we can't have them getting through!" the first shouted

The second soldier quickly covered that angle gunning anyone down in his path. The enemy continued to push and overwhelm the group of soldiers. Finally the soldiers began to crack they started to give up ground until they were at the end of the corridor with no escape. They fought until their sidearms ran dry. The enemy tossed a frag into the shoddy fortifications killing everyone in the vicinity.

"Sonva Bitch!" Jordan shouted as the simulation ended

"Shitty performance, get over to the briefing room we'll discuss what went wrong." Mike talked over the group of operators.

Rainbow was still having problems they failed to extract their VIPs yet again. Mike had been pushing the team extra hard he was unrelenting. The ops were extra tired after running sims all day, Mike was basically holding them hostage. Most flopped down into the chairs of the briefing room. Even the more resilient members such as Elias and Meghan were feeling the fatigue.

"That run was better but it isn't hard improve on garbage." Mike started

"Mike, dude you have ran us into the dirt with this. We are all very tired and we need a break, I know you have to be getting tired just like us." Jordan replied

Mike was feeling tired but he and the team needed to get a strategy down before the meeting that was rapidly approaching. "After this we'll call it a night, from your perspectives what do you see as issues?"

"For starters we are entirely outmatched in numbers. We don't have enough man power to hold off long enough for extraction. Without fail we manage to run out of ammunition to fight just because of how many there are attacking the building." Lera was the first to comment

"Also you get us caught up in tight corridors for extraction and there not a lot room to maneuver around enemy. Unless you are wanting us to fuck up the building more and create our own flanking routes, then that requires everyone to carry det cord or even C4." Meghan stated her opinion

Mike nodded at the feedback from the team

"We need reinforcements from the military just so we can have a chance to somewhat even the numbers. Otherwise we will fail if there is an attack. As for the ammo issue, we could have ammo cans filled with magazines stashed by at each section that could help minimize the chances of running dry or at least stall it off for a little longer." Elena casted her opinion and then yawned

"On top of that what if we added some of our defensive shields at the ammo can stations so this way we are a little more fortified and can hold the sectors easier. I could have a couple of my barricades at each station in case we need to block a line of sight. It wouldn't be the best but it would buy time and it would relieve pressure off the shields." Miles spoke up

"We could also consolidate the teams a little more, right now we are really spread out trying to cover more ground than we actually can. Maybe teams of four or reduce our outside presence to reinforce the teams in the building." Mark chimed in

"Miles make up a diagram or a map and we'll figure out the fine print together." Miles nods to Mike's command. Mike looked to Morowa and Gilles. "What do you think Morowa and Gilles?" Mike asked

"The others pretty much hit the nail on the head, the only thing I could suggest is that we have all of us with shields to be in the building so we can push the hostiles back. I would also like for us using shields mainly Elias, to have a mod for his shield so he can have a machine pistol because a handgun isn't going to cut it." Gilles commented

"I have to agree with Gilles. We need more options to push the hostiles back. Whether that's through pure firepower or by tactics." Morowa added

"We will make some of these adjustments tomorrow. You all should get some rest. Dismissed." Mike replied to all of the criticism

All of the operators quickly left the briefing room wanting to rest. They all let out sighs of relief when they left the briefing room. Fletcher escorted Meghan to her room. Both were very tired, Meghan opened her door and offered for him to come in. He accepted and they both sat down on her bed. Meghan let out a soft groan as she stretched her body.

"I wish Mike wouldn't push us so hard, I'm stiff from sitting in the simulators all day" She complained

Fletcher smiled "I know, I really wanted to go for a run today and workout." Fletcher also stretched

"A run would be nice right now" Meghan replied and yawned

"You sound like you would pass out in the middle of it" Fletcher gave a small chuckle

She smiled and rubbed her neck trying to loosen up her muscles.

"I could give you a massage if you wanted"

Meghan took his offer into deep consideration, she didn't get her chance to work out today either. She felt like her entire body was locked up. "That would be nice." She replied

"Alright I need to grab a few things from my room, I'll be right back" Fletcher kept his smile

It wasn't long for Fletcher to come back with a foam roller that had some small studs on it, he was also carrying bottle of what looked like an oil. Meghan gave her usual warm smile.

"Okay, take your shirt off and lay face down and I'll get started." Fletcher smiled at her

She gave him a look of slight concern, she didn't like the idea of taking her shirt off.

"I'm not going to do anything without your consent you don't have to take off your shirt if you don't want to." Fletcher reaffirmed

"No funny business Fletch or I'll beat your ass" She replied sternly

Fletcher chuckled and smiled "I know, I wouldn't dare try anything you weren't comfortable with"

Meghan turned her back and took off her shirt before laying down on her bed. She rested her arms under her head as she carefully watched him from the corner of her eye. He carefully took in every detail of her, even her back had a lot of muscle definition. Her sleeves went all the way up to her shoulders, it was perfect symmetry. He found it unusually attractive. He focused on her back again, he could almost identify every muscle. He grabbed the roller and he put almost all of his weight on it and he rolled it down her back crushing all of her muscles. Her back cracked a lot at least ten times, he went all the way down her legs stopping just before her ankles. She let out a soft groan as her entire body felt decompressed.

"That feels amazing." She commented with a smile

Fletcher kept his smile as he performed smaller and quicker rolls on her upper back, relieving the pressure on her shoulders. She closed her eyes as he did his work, they were both unusually quiet. The tension in the room could have been cut with knife. Fletcher felt a little uncomfortable so he started whistling a tune. She opened her right eye and looked at him.

"Not tense are you" She smiled

He let out a huff of amusement "Yeah a little bit." He paused his sentence for a second as he moved to her lower back. "My trainer used to do this to me"

"Oh yeah?" she replied before closing her eyes again

"Yeah, if I had a rough match or an intense workout he would loosen me up and we would discuss my fight" Fletcher spoke as he took her one arm and stretched it out before running the roller over her triceps

She was loving this, she watched him as he tended to her tense body with care "You let another dude give you a message?" she asked with a teasing smile

"Yes I did, now it wasn't anything intimate like you are thinking of." Fletcher smiled and he started working on her other arm.

She kept her teasing smile "Did he give a happy ending?" she asked trying to contain her laughter

Fletcher smiled "no he charged extra for those" he started working on her hamstrings with the roller

She chuckled and she watched him, she hadn't seen him quite like this. His eyes showed great care as he worked her muscles over. She couldn't help but continue to smile, she thoroughly enjoyed this side of him over his more intense side. He was doing magic to loosen up her muscles. He finally finished with the roller and he put some oil on his hands and he started up by her neck, he pressed his thumbs into the back of her neck. She let out a soft groan as he slowly worked her neck muscles.

"What was it like to be in the MMA?" She asked

"It was different but it was kind of fun, I wasn't good enough to get into the UFC but it certainly was entertaining. Even if I lost it was fun, it was nice to learn how to be a competent fighter." He smiled and worked a lower on her neck getting closer to her shoulders. The room fell silent again and he didn't really like that so he kept the conversation rolling "What was like trying out for the Olympics?" he asked

"Difficult. I had no time for a social life aside from school and the swim team. If you even want to call that a social life. It kind of sucked, but I was so damn competitive. I couldn't let go." She replied

"You being competitive? There's no way, absolutely no way that you were being competitive." His voice was filled with sarcasm and a smile on his face

She just smiled "I was pretty good, I placed first at the national meet two times in a row and still hold the record."

"That's pretty impressive, why didn't you go to the Olympics?" he asked curiously

He could see some anger in her face "I was on the way to the try outs for the team and some jackass T-boned me, it fucked arm and I had to give up my Olympic dream. I don't think I have ever been so depressed in my life. I was so upset that I couldn't swim in the Olympics and I didn't leave my room for a week. Mom did everything she could, she enticed me with food, games, puzzles all kinds of stuff. She even found a way to make the house smell like chlorine" She chuckled "even then I didn't bother because I knew I would never be able to swim like I used to."

He looked at her with sympathy, he never had to give up something like that. He started working on her lower back. "Well you got a pretty shitty deal there. At least you were able to recover and join a new team that is way more badass" Fletcher smiled

She smiled "Yeah, I guess in the end it was better for me. I made a lot friends over my career it's nice to have a social life and a romantic one too."

Fletcher smiled and he got his hands on either of her hips "it is nice to be in a relationship again." He squeezed her hips and wiggled his fingers

She nearly folded in half and she grabbed his wrists out of reflex as she softly giggled "Sthahap" she squeezed out

She was lucky that he was in a merciful mood and he stopped. He had a smile on his face "I'm done so you can put your shirt on"

He grabbed her blue shirt and tossed it over her head as he put his roller and oil next the desk in her room. She felt much better and much looser. She almost felt like jello because of how loose she was. He sat down next to her on the bed with a smile.

"Better?" he asked

"Much" she replied and she felt his arm snake around her waist

She smiled at him and she kept her hand close to his to ensure she could escape his grasp if he were to try and tickle her more. She moved a little closer to him, she could see the fatigue on his face.

"How would you feel about staying here tonight?" She asked smiled

He looked at her with a rather charming and devious smile "You want me to sleep with you?" he asked

She shook her head with a smile "Just answer the question" she replied

"How about you answer my question first." He countered with his smile

She hit him in the gut "Just answer my question and quit being a dick" she was smiling

He flinched at the hit but he kept that smile "C'mon why don't you want to answer?" he continued to tease

She hit him again playfully "Just answer my question Fletch, or I'm going to beat your ass."

He chuckled "I'll stay here, since you desperately want me to sleep with you" he kept his smile

She shook her head as he left to change and get a few things. She went to her half bath and she looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. Her plan to get him to stay worked and she profited a massage out of it. She normally wasn't one to badger other people into doing what she wanted, but she really wanted to break him out of his shell. It was maybe five minutes before he came back in, wearing sweat pants and t shirt. He smiled at her as she walked out of the bathroom in her PJs. They both crawled into bed, Meghan smiled at him before turning out the light. She turned on her side facing him and she was out like a light. Fletcher on the other hand didn't have that same luck. He stared at the ceiling as he normally did before he fell asleep, however his mind wouldn't let him sleep. He stared at the ceiling waiting for his eyes to tire out and finally close. He stared for fifteen minutes before he got tired of looking at the ceiling. He had a feeling that this was going to happen. He shifted so he was on his left side and sigh. He looked at Meghan sleeping peacefully. The moonlight softly caressed her face, the golden strands of her hair glowed in the soft light of moon. He adored her. Her face looked ever so angelic in the moon light. He saw and ever so slight smile on her face. He returned the smile, he couldn't help but admire her. He softly stroked her cheek with his thumb making sure not to wake her. Part of him wanted to get out of the bed and go back to his room, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings or wake her. He tried to think of ways to sleep, the only way that he knew would be to sleep with his eyes open. Otherwise his mind wouldn't let him sleep. He flipped on his back and stared up at the ceiling. He took a breath and did his best to quiet his mind. He let his mind go blank and he interlocked his fingers over his torso and his mind finally went to sleep as his eyes continued to stare at the ceiling.

 **September 10, 2018**

 **Hereford, 0730 hours**

Meghan was the first to wake up of the two, she took a breath and stretched her arms before cascading into a yawn. She looked over to the other person in her bed. She was a little worried seeing his eyes open and that he wasn't moving an inch. She saw his stomach rise slowly and she relaxed. She nudged his arm

"Fletch it's time to get up" She spoke softly

He inhaled and blinked five or six times to get a little more moisture in his eyes. She gave him a concerned look.

"Did you even sleep?" she asked

"Yeah, I just slept with my eyes open." He replied calmly as he sat up and but his back to the headboard

"Why?" She asked slightly intrigued and a little worried, she doesn't like the fact that he isn't getting sleep.

"Well I wasn't going to be able to sleep otherwise, my mind doesn't like that I'm in someone else's bed with someone other than myself." He replied as he looked at her

She nodded quietly and she too sat up and put her back to the headboard. He looked at her expecting a reply.

"You're not upset are you?" he asked almost timidly

"No I'm not, I know you can't help it. It's just frustrating." Meghan replied with a soft smile

"I know, but I did it to myself by not taking a break between deployments." He replied

Meghan pulled him into a hug feeling somewhat sympathetic towards him. Both of their phones went off breaking the embrace. They got the same message, saying that simulations were called off for the day thanks to Gustave. They both had a look of relief on their faces as they both needed to make up for the physical activity that they missed yesterday. He smiled at her

"Well do you want to hit the gym now that our day is opened up?" He asked stretching his arms

"Let's start with a run, then we'll hit the gym and go for a swim after that." Meghan replied

"You really want to do an Iron man today?" he chuckled

"Why not? It's an excellent workout. You will enjoy it." she added with a smile before getting out of bed. "Now get changed I want to get started" She added before heading into the bathroom

Fletcher went back to his room to get into his workout clothes. Meghan had met him at his dorm, together they went outside to run the perimeter of the base. Surprisingly a large amount of the team was out there as well. They were all running in groups of two. Fletcher and Meghan started at a brisk jog. The land around Hereford was quite beautiful, the hills were covered in green luscious grass. The morning air was nice, it was warm and comforting there was still the slight chill in the British air. The sky was the typical grey overcast threatening to rain. They were running on a gravel path. They passed a platoon of SAS out for their morning run. Fletcher and Meghan kept a good pace both barely huffing yet. Both were enjoying the strain on their legs as they continued their run. They both heard some quick feet catching up to them Fletcher was the first to look back. It was none other than Mitchell running at almost top speed, just a step behind him was Eliza. It didn't take long for the two speedsters to pass them.

"Careful Mitch, she's going to catch you" Fletcher spoke up

He only saw a bird coming from his little brother which made him smile. They were only half way around the base, fatigue was starting to set in for the two. Tina and Sebastian were jogging together when Fletcher and Meghan caught up to them.

"How can you guys wear those beanies on a morning jog?" Fletcher asks between breaths Seb

Seb just chuckles at the question "How can you operate with that long ass hair?"

Fletcher just nodded in return satisfied with answer despite it being a question. Meghan and Fletcher jogged on past them. He was a little surprised that Meghan wasn't trying to race him to the finish. He figured that she didn't want to push herself incase if an op popped up. He knew that she would want to compete with him in the weight room once they got there. She really enjoyed this run, she normally wasn't the one for cardio but after being in a simulator for almost ten hours straight changed her thoughts on running. It was another thirty minutes before they got to the end of their course. Both were starting to pant, He smiled

"I was surprised you didn't want to race to the finish." He spoke between breaths

She smiled back "I would lose you got those damn giraffe legs one step for you is like two for me."

He chuckled and nudged her shoulder "c'mon let's hit the weight room" he replied

"How about breakfast then weight room." Meghan countered

"Sounds good" Fletcher replied

* * *

They went to the mess hall to grab some chow. Meanwhile Mike was in Six's office, he was visibly upset. They were talking about New York and the simulations.

"Mike how are the preparations coming along for New York?" Six asked as she was filling out a variety of forms

"Not good, we just don't have the numbers. I don't know if you can convince one of the military officers to station a garrison at the UN building or not, but we need the extra man power or something." Mike sighed "No matter how we rack our brains over it we still can't get ahead and get the VIPs out. We need something to help us out." He added

Six looked at him "I'll see what I can do about getting a garrison on standby. Just let them have their day away from the sims today then crackdown tomorrow with changes. What else do you have for me?" she asked

"Ma'am I'm genuinely worried about this, if the Masks pull off an attack to this scale we will lose people and New York will be lost again. I know I'm not the one to call for help but we are going to need it." Mike continued

"Mike I understand your concern, but the QRF on standby is going to be able to bail us out if we need it. Remember Mike this is a huge what if, we don't even know if there will be an attack. Keep that in mind Mike, I know we plan for worst case. But you need to consider that there may not be an attack." Six replied as she looked at him

Mike nodded quietly, digesting what was said. Six went back to her forms finishing them up.

"How badly are we losing?" Six asked

"Badly, we have gotten it down to two VIPs but we still can't hold it. There are too many variables at play. If we get the garrison we have a better chance of holding it and getting all of the VIPs out." Mike continued to repeat himself

Six nodded "alright Mike, you're dismissed."

Mike left the office, he was still uneasy about the whole ordeal. He had been working himself just as hard as everyone else trying to draw battle plans with a variety of the elder ops of Rainbow. He ran his hand back across his full head of hair and let out a sigh as he walked down the hall. He liked Six but he thought she was being a little naïve to think that the Masks wouldn't attack. He got back to the briefing room and yet again he was stuck looking at the layout for the UN building. He shook his head he couldn't find a way to keep the team and the VIPs alive. He rested his head on his hand and sighed as reexamined the layout for what felt like the billionth time.

 **1300 hours Hereford**

Meghan and Fletcher had pushed themselves close to their limits in the weight room trying to outdo the other. Meghan of course was able to convince Fletcher to go for a swim with her. She was already changed and wearing her swim suit under a pair of sweats and a shirt. She wanted to talk to Gustave about her special friend. She made her way to the infirmary

"Hey Gus?" She called out from the lobby

She hear Gustave come out to meet her in the lobby of the infirmary. He had his usual glowing smile.

"What can I do for you today Meghan?" He asked

"I wanted to talk to you about Fletcher" she spoke in a somewhat soft tone

"What's going on with him?" Gustave asked taking a seat behind his desk

"His usual, no sleeping or having trouble sleeping. I was wondering if there was anything that you could do for him." Meghan added

"Hmm, there isn't much I can do to permanently rectify the issue but I can help alleviate some of the symptoms." Gustave continued as he looked to her

"Last night he had to sleep with his eyes open because I was in the room with him. I'm worried that if he can't sleep correctly that it might affect the team and how we perform. Could you prescribe him maybe? Or something?" She asked

"I'm not very keen on prescribing a sedative because they aren't sleeping well. I can talk to Harry to see if he would talk to Fletcher about his sleeping problems." Gustave continued

"Gus, come on you and I both know that Fletch is going to want to talk to Harry about his problems. Or anyone who is a pencil pusher for that matter." Meghan replied

Gustave chuckled "I guess you are right, I will only medicate him now and one more time before New York. It won't be nothing heavy, maybe a small dosage of Valium." He added

"Ok, we are going for a swim here in a few minutes. Maybe do it after, don't forget to take him off the active roster for today." She replied

"I won't, I must say you two are getting quite close." He smiled slyly "Is there anything I should know about?" he asked

Meghan smiled softly "That's none of your business." She wagged her finger at him

He just smiled and leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. "Have him stop by here after you two get done with your swim and I will give him a light sedative. Now he will be drowsy and feel loopy so maybe keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't hurt himself. He should be pretty wore out with you taking him through all of those workouts." He smiled

"I'll do that Gus" Meghan replied with a smile

With that Meghan left the room and made her way down to the pool. She opened the door and looked in and surprisingly Fletcher was there before her. She could finally see all of the wounds he endured, most of the scars were faded she could see the skin around his ribs looked really rough she figured it was from all of the times he had his ribs broken or from his fights. He was wearing cloth shorts waiting for her. She walked over to him with a warming smile on her face. He smiled back and she stripped down to her swim suit and looked at him.

"Are you ready?" she asked

"Yup, tell me what we are going to do and let's get to it." He replied

She could tell he was tired or at least fatigued, she had put him through the wringer so far today. Meghan quickly explained what they were doing and how they were doing it. She put her swimmer's cap on and dove in. Fletcher on the other hand dropped in and they began their second aerobic exercise of the day. They swam back and forth repeatedly one lap after another. Fletcher was doing the best he could to keep up with Meghan. He was two or so laps behind despite his ability to swim he still wasn't nearly as quick as she was. He could have sworn she was a fish. Meghan was hoping for a bit of a challenge but she quickly found out that that wasn't going to happen she kept going and going making sure to keep a solid lead over her counterpart. She made it through her swim in around an hour, she pulled herself up out of the water and she watched him finish. He got up out of the water and sat next to her breathing heavily, his hair was more than drenched. She looked at his left shoulder and she saw the Airborne Ranger patch tattooed into it. She smirked

"You alright? I know you Rangers don't like the water all that much but you seemed to have done pretty well." She chirped

He flipped her off and smiled "piss off" replied breathily

She chuckled and popped off her cap and shook her hair loose as he collected himself. She took a good look at him she could see a lot of his wounds, he had two bullet holes right beneath his heart. He had a gash on his chest, she could just barely see the bullet hole on his leg. She looked at his back and she could see the exit wounds from his chest wounds. She thought about how lucky she was, and that she had only been shot once. She contemplated on some of her fallen brothers. She thought about how lucky she was that she was alive. She didn't notice how much time she spent staring at his wounds nor did she notice him looking at her.

"It's only because of luck that I am here and not rotting away in Arlington." He spoke softly as if he had read her mind

She looked at him and nodded "And fate" she replied

He nodded "You good?" he asked

"Yeah, where did you get all of these?" she asked looking at him

He chuckled "from all over the world." He smiled

She gave an unimpressed look "That's not what I meant, seriously how did you get these?"

"It's classified, on a need to know basis. You don't need to know quite yet Meg." He smirked

She sighed softly "can I feel one of them?" she asked skeptically

"Knock yourself out." He responded rather calmly

She timidly reached over to his chest, the room was dead quiet aside from the water softly washing up on the walls of the pool. Her finger tips softly grazed the old wound, the skin felt soft as if it were new almost. It was indented as well, she was fascinated by the texture of the wound. She ran her thumb across the gash on his chest, it was barely two inches wide. She scooted closer to him to the point their legs were touching. He was watching her carefully, her eyes were dilated. He secretly enjoyed this, he felt her hands go down his torso feeling his ribs. Her hands were so soft, he felt her lean in and he looked at her and she pulled him into a kiss. She could feel him recoil a little just before he melted back into her. She slowly pushed him down onto the concrete before she straddled him. She kept him down as they continued to make out. His hands travelled down her body and he softly gripped her ass. She gave a soft moan in gratitude, her hands travelled down his body taking in every inch of his skin. Meghan was thrilled to finally be doing this with him. Fletcher was enjoying as well but something in the back of his head was screaming at him. He managed to suppress this feeling in the back of his head. He was focused on the woman that was in front of him. He put all of his energy to focus on her. However that feeling in the back of his head came back screaming at him louder to the point he couldn't ignore it. He pushed up on her shoulders, she fought him for a minute thinking nothing of it, and he felt like he couldn't breathe. He gave a little harder of a shove and she finally realized that he was trying to get up. She quickly stopped and got off of him, he was breathing heavily. Her mind switched gears quickly she was immediately concerned.

"Are you alright?" she asked quickly feeling a slight tinge guilt.

He was breathing kind of hard, he was trying to breathe his body was fighting him. "Fletch, breathe. Look at me, relax."

He quickly got up and scampered off without a word. He was having an anxiety attack. He couldn't hardly breathe. He made it to the infirmary, Gustave was there in the front of the office. Fletcher walked in the door gasping for air. Gus was quick to take him to the back and get him sat down on a table. He started a breathing exercise as he took a small syringe of valium. He waited for Fletcher to calm down. Gustave looked at him and looked him in the eye.

"You good? Can you breathe?" Gustave asked in a calm matter

"Yeah, I have been through a lot of attacks but that's a new one." He replied breathlessly

"Well, it seems you had an anxiety attack. Just keep doing that breathing exercise and relax. I'm going to give a light sedative called Valium." Gustave spoke calmly as he pricked Fletcher with the needle. "Now avoid operating heavy machinery, strenuous physical activity, and alcohol for at least 12 hours. I also have to put on a temporary disabled list due to the side effects of this drug." He informed quickly

Fletch nodded in return and ran his hand over his head as he tried to calm his nerves. He getting air back in his lungs. Gustave sat down on a stool and looked at Fletcher with curiosity. "What were you doing before you came in here?" the good doctor asked

"I was swimming with Meghan and we after we were done we took a break and the attack just hit out of nowhere." He replied

Gustave knew he was lying "Well your attack had to have something to instigate it. Just tell me the truth. You know once you're in one of these room patient confidentiality takes over. I legally can't tell anyone. I'm also trying to avoid sending you to Harry because you're likely to rip him a new one." Gustave spoke in calm and demanding tone

He could see embarrassment in his eyes "Gustave I would rather not tell you about what happened." Fletcher replied again

Gustave wasn't happy that Fletcher wasn't going to tell him what happened. It was also his choice "Alright, this shot will help keep you calm and prevent another possible attack."

Fletcher was just happy that Gustave was dropping the subject. The doctor took a short breath "Now I know you suffer from night terrors and what not but seeing as this is new I really suggest that you talk to Harry about your issues and try to get them under wraps. I know you don't like psychologists or people who look, act, or even smell like a spook but you need to trust him and talk to him."

Fletcher let out an aggravated sigh "Alright I'll go see him soon, maybe not today but tomorrow or something"

"Good because I will be checking to make sure you do." Gustave replied

Fletcher nodded as he could feel the sedative start to effect on his mind and body. "Thanks Doc, I'll see you later"

With that he left the infirmary, he was kicking himself for having an attack. He figured that Meghan was feeling terrible about herself. He went back to the pool to grab his other clothes Meghan was long gone.

"Damn it" he sighed angrily

He walked off to get a shower, he was pissed at himself. He leaned against the wall of the shower with his arm acting as a pillow. He sighed again.

" _Damn it Fletch, now what's wrong with you?" he asked himself again_

The water pelted his body, he closed his eyes as the warm water flowed down his body. He could really feel the sedative now, he was starting to feel loopy and his thoughts were coming more slowly to him. Not to mention they were quite random, His eyes felt heavy. He quickly finished his shower trying to keep from totally succumbing to valium. After he got dressed he stumbled up to Meghan's room. He knocked on the door seeing if Meghan was there. She opened door and she could see the tired look on his face. She was holding a towel and drying her hair, she was wearing her typical sweats and a hoodie. Fletcher's hair was damp and it looked a little knotted. He was in a t shirt and shorts and wearing his old dirty tennis shoes. She had a guilty look in her eyes. She motioned for him to come in. He walked in the door and sat down on her bed. She sat down next to him.

"Are you ok?" she asked her voice riddled with guilt.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Gustave said I had an anxiety attack. Then he gave me a sedative." He followed with a yawn

"Fletch I'm sorry I caused your attack" Meghan apologized avoiding his look

"Don't be sorry, I honestly didn't expect it to happen. It's not your fault Meg." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders

"Well, I feel bad because I caused you to have an attack." She was forced to lean into him as he pulled her close, she continued to dry her hair.

"I know, but you need to quit worrying about it. I'm fine, just need to find the root of that problem and deal with it." He replied "Don't feel bad Meg, I do that enough for the both of us."

She gave a small huff "That's the truth." She took a good look at him, she could tell he was tired but she figured it was the drug. "Well the good thing is, is that you will be getting some sleep at least"

"Yeah that's true." He chuckled softly "Do you mind if I stay here for a little bit, I might crash out. That drug he hit me with is ridiculous." He yawned again

She gave a soft smile "Yeah that would be fine. Just relax."

"I will tell you what though, you are quite a good kisser." He smiled

She smiled as he pulled her close. He let her go after giving her a small hug and he laid out on her bed. His eyes finally gave in and he fell asleep. She still felt guilty about giving him an attack, she sighed and looked at him. She softly smiled before leaving the room and heading down to the mess hall.

 **Hereford 1500 hours**

The team was thoroughly enjoying their time out of the simulators. Most were at the range shooting their real guns. Mike was also there surprisingly, working with one of the younger recruits. He was doing his best coach him and help improve his accuracy. Seamus couldn't help but chuckle at the old man, he was always helping the younger generation. He thought about when he went through selection and Mike didn't have a beard and was even more of a hard ass than what he was now. He enjoyed the old man's company as he did bring a lot of wisdom to the table and conversations. He cleared his L85 and walked over to observe the recruits shooting. It was good but still wasn't quite enough to get in Rainbow.

"FNG, you best be writing things down. That old guy knows what he's talking about." Seamus smiled knowing it would bring a reaction out of Mike

"I could still whip your arse despite my age." Mike rebutted

"You said that in selection and I put you on the ground mate" Seamus replied trying to irk the old man as much as he could.

"It's only because I let you lass" Mike replied with the slightest smirk "Now shut up and let me help this lad."

Seamus walked on and put his L85 back in his cage. He looked over to Mike's cage and saw his phone light up with a call. The name on the phone looked important, he quickly punched in Mike's code and grabbed the phone and he rushed back to the range. Mike was still helping the young recruit. Seamus tapped Mike's shoulder and handed him his phone. There were four missed calls from the same person. Mike took the phone and walked out of the room leaving Seamus to deal with the recruit and called his friend in MI-6.

"Mac what's going on?" Mike asked

"Mike, have you heard about some freighters that have gone missing on the coast of China?" Macmillan replied

"No haven't heard anything about, do I need to get my team together?" Mike asked

"No, we haven't found one, yet. I was wondering if your organization could track one down." Mac continued

"How many are missing? Have you check with the CIA or Interpol?" Mike asked

"Around 7 or so just up and disappeared into the pacific. No I haven't yet, news just hit us today. We have a lot teams working on tracking these boats down." Mac replied

"Jesus, how can one lose track of seven boats? Why are you interested in ships missing in the ocean anyway?" he asked

"Well one of them was ours they were hauling scrap or something and the crew was abandoned in China. They were arrested a couple of days ago for being in a restricted area. The Chinese filed extradition papers and the embassy took them in. Which is why we are just finding out about this." Mac replied

"I'll have my boss call you and have her talk to you about it." Mike replied and he hung up. He immediately called Six

"What's going on Mike?" She asked

"One of my old friends in MI-6 says that there are missing boats and you should call him to get the details." He quickly informed he fed her the number. "His name is Captain Macmillan."

"Alright Mike I'll give him a call" Six replied and hung up before making the phone call.

Mike sighed and shook his head. He knew who stole the boats, even if it was just a hunch it was pretty obvious. "Sonva bitch" he spoke quietly to himself.

He had never been so anxious and stressed in his career. This possible threat was terrible and looming. Ever since they started training for guarding the UN building he had this pit in his stomach that refused to go away. He strongly disliked being off balance and not knowing what's out in the mist. It made him feel insecure which was hard to do in the first place. He ran his hand through his hair. He leaned up against the wall and let out a long sigh, this was one of the few times in his career that he was behind the enemy and left in the smoke with little to no information on the next move. He did his best to shake the stress off before heading back to the range.

 **Hereford 2000 hours**

Mitchell and Tina were in the mess hall eating a particularly late supper. They both had enjoyed their day out of the simulations. They were basically the only two in the room, the lights were easy on the dull institution grey mess hall. They were quietly enjoying their meal.

"The private jet was under repair and they couldn't take us to Paris tonight" He spoke in the stereotypical rich snob voice.

She giggled "Well then we should fire them" She replied in same voice

"Ah yes, such a wonderful idea. It's hard to find good help these days" Mitchell added with a scowl

They both laughed at themselves, they both went back to eating their really late supper.

Mitchell smiled as he took a bite of his salad. "Did you have a good day?"

She nodded "I did, got to go for a good run. I was able to work with traps a little. I was able to review a little bit of footage, I was able to hit the range. I finally was able to clean up the super ninety. Gah that thing was so filthy I'm pretty sure I went through an entire box of rags." She smiled at him before taking a drink of her soda.

"Yeah I can attest to that, it needed a lot of love." He chuckled

She nodded again "What all did you get done today?" She asked

"Basically the same things. I was able to get around to making a few more charges and just trying to rememorize my patrol pattern." He let out a sigh laced with stress and accomplishment. "Speaking of which, isn't the Canadian thanksgiving the week before?" Mitchell asked

"Yeah it's on Monday the 8th. I would really like to go home for the holiday but with the op being in the same week I won't be able to go" She too sighed in frustration

"How about me and you can go and get a huge meal from one of the local restaurants. Bring it back here and we can celebrate together. Seb can come along too" He smiled

"That would be nice" She gave a sweet smile, her face turned serious "What do you think about this op?" She asked a little uneasy

"What do you mean?" He asked with a raised brow and slight confusion on his face

"Do you think the op is stupid or a little odd?" She asked

"I think it's both, Why are the ones to be pulling security? Like what happens if there is an attack that we need to go to? We can't just up and leave to go wherever. I think it's odd that we are preparing for a huge attack, there is absolutely no way the Masks have a force that big. I think it's a waste of our talents to be doing something as trivial as this." He replied "Why did you ask?" he asked

"I was just curious because a lot of the others were thinking the same thing." She replied "I feel the same way. Just I don't know I've got this weird feeling about the op. like anytime it's mentioned it makes my gut wrench." She spoke softly

"Hey don't look at it any differently than a standard asset protection job, ok. I think you are nervous because we haven't had a successful run on the simulator yet. Just relax and we will be just fine, I promise." He smiled taking her hand in his and he ran his thumb across her knuckles with that dangerously charming smile

She just smiled and shook her head, that smile always made her smile no matter how hard she tried to fight it. "If only it were that simple"

"It is just don't over think it." He kept his voice light hearted

She let out a sigh and nodded, she looked at him as if to ease her thoughts a little. He kept his smile. He crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out seeing if he could get a laugh out of her.

She smiled shook her head "Goof" was all that she before leaning over the table to share a kiss with him.

She was pretty stressed out by the fact that the team had yet to get a successful run on the simulator. She was glad Mitchell was so relaxed and confident that they would pull through with ease. She sat back down and they went back to eating and talking about their day and enjoying each other's company. They both liked having the mess hall to themselves and not being pestered by the others. Alex and Lera came traipsing through the mess hall, both Mitchell and Tina watched them. They were laughing as they grabbed a couple bottles of water. It was pretty obvious to everyone on the team that the two were madly in love with each other.

"I wonder if they know that we know they are a couple." Mitchell commented

"I think they know and they don't care." Tina replied "Unlike you" She teased

"I don't care either, I have no idea what you are talking about." He tried to deadpan his response.

"Mhm" She rolled her eyes "You liar"

"Alright, maybe I do care, it's mainly Craig. I would never hear the end of it." He smirked

"Pussy" she grinned

"Weeelll you are what you eat" Mitchell chuckled

"You're impossible" She just shook her head again with a smile

The two finished their meal and went back to Mitchell's dorm for the night. The couple had started to leave a change of clothes in each other's dorms just in case if they stayed the night.

* * *

Alex and Lera were in her dorm relaxing and chatting about the motherland. They eventually got to the subject of their homes.

"Yeah, my grandfather my built a cabin out in the boreal forests. It's rather nice and a good get away." he spoke softly

"I can imagine, I bet Maxim has been begging you so that he can use it" She softly chuckled

"He has a lot" A sly and annoyed grin worked its way on his face. "I was thinking maybe next time we get rotated for time off maybe we go there for a weekend after you meet my kids"

She chuckled "That does sound nice. My concern is that we won't have any communication in case something happens" She kept a smile

"Ha I have already taken care of that, I had a hotspot and a generator put out there to let us keep in touch with everyone we have to." Alex replied confidently

"Of course you have" Lera softly chuckled as she sipped away at her water "Maybe we can go there after the op and take a break."

"That would be good, Maxim said he has a bear skin rug for me to put in the cabin." Alex replied "Also my grandfather stocked it with plenty of vodka. It has been fermenting there for a long time, the strongest drink I have ever had." He gave a smile

She couldn't help smirk at the Russian bear, she shared a kiss with him. He smiled at her and he caressed her face. "You are a gorgeous woman Lera." He ran his thumb across her cheek

Her cheeks started to redden and her eyes darted away from his "As if I would believe such a terrible lie"

He gave her a hearty chuckle and wrapped his arm around her waist "You are too milyy" (Cute)

She elbowed his side with a smile "Shut up" She leaned into him

The two sat in silence for a minute or two. Lera was mainly trying to get the blush away from her face. She gave a soft sigh and looked at him "Where did Mike put you? Now that he's reformed the teams and patrols?"

"He put me in section 3, so this way me and Adrian aren't together and we can provide support in different areas" He replied

"So they put you at the extraction area instead of the front line?" She asked curiously, with confusion on her face

"Yeah, I tried to convince him of having me in the first line of defense, he said that I should be the last line of defense." He replied with slight frustration "I feel it would be better for me to be the tip of the spear and hold them back but Mike knows best" He replied with more agitation

"He knows something we don't, if we don't have a successful run tomorrow then bring it up to him." She replied in a calming tone

He took a breath "maybe you're right" he smiled at her

She smirked and kissed him the two sat right next to each other basking in the other's company. Lera turned her TV on and they started watching the Office that was recommended to them by a couple of the ops from the western hemisphere. Lera really loved him even though they hadn't said the words to each other. She was nervous about the upcoming op mainly because she knew if anything bad were to happen, her friend would have no escape route. She looked at him with worry, she knew he was capable of holding his own. She clutched him a little tighter as she watched the show trying to take her mind off of the subject. The two spent their time laughing at the jokes and staying close to one another. They spent their night snuggling each other before finally crashing out with the TV on.

 **0800 hours Hereford**

Fletcher had finally woke up from his slumber. He took his time sitting up, he let out a long yawn. Before looking around to see that he was still in Meghan's dorm. Meghan walked out of the bathroom.

"Finally" She smiles

"How long was I out?" He asks trying to wake himself up

"Since like two yesterday." She snickers "You must have needed it. I tried to wake you at supper time and you refused to get up. I even hit your face a little and you didn't flinch." She had a huge smile.

He rubbed his eyes and smiled "My eyes still feel tired." he huffed "What's on the agenda today?" He stretched jutting out his chest with his arms over his head.

"More simulations, yippy" her smile feigns

He chuckles at her expression and sarcasm. "Were there any changes to us?" he asks standing up

"Not to us, other teams have been shaken up and readjusted." She informed

He nods and looks at the time "We better get going, before Mike thinks I'm building a bomb to kill us all"

She chuckles at the statement "I don't understand why he hates you so much"

"Neither do I"

They walk to the kitchen to grab a breakfast sandwich and a beverage. It didn't take long for everyone to gather in the simulation room. Everyone had a refreshed look on their faces, however they didn't look to excited to be heading to the simulators. Mike explained to everyone what was expected of them and how the teams were set up. Everyone strapped in for the day. The digital world loaded in around them. It wasn't long before they were walking around a digital New York City. As usual the simulation threw the Masks against them. Rainbow and the Masks battled for three long hours.

Miles was shot to shit. He only could use his right arm to fire his Meusoc. He had Adriano to support him, Adriano dumps his mag into the hallway keep the Masks back. He dips behind his shield to reload his lmg. An empty ammo can set by his knee. Miles fires two shots of his handgun into the hall. He grabs one of the suits he was covering.

"Keep covering! Alex, rotate set up a cross fire!" Miles shouts holstering his handgun, he pulls the VIP off the floor as the sound of the DP-28 filled the air. Miles ran as fast as he could with a limp. He grunts tossing the VIP into the extraction zone. He fell to the ground panting, the gun fire stopped on both sides. He racks his head back into the concrete in frustration. They all thought they had failed yet again. Silence fell over everyone the room was dead quiet.

"Operation Complete all VIPs extracted" the voice of the announcer fills the ears of the ops.

The whole room was in awe, they finally did it. One successful run finally complete. Tears nearly spilled on the floor with happiness. Feelings of relief fell over the team. Mike was the first to speak.

"Nice job, run it again and get it done better this time. We don't want losses on our side to be so high. Go!" Mike demanded as the stress rolled off his shoulders.

They ran the simulations over and over again, the only this time they're morale was much higher and every run they got better and better. Was there hubris within them? Yes, when you are the best of the best how cannot be. They had started developing strategies for almost every scenario. They ran themselves into the dirt again with setting their strategies, they were on the simulators for almost nine hours. It was another long day but a good day.

 **Hereford 2000**

The sky was dark and the stars were starting to dot the sky. The sun was almost completely gone with a tinge of purple on the horizon. The team was reveling in their success down stairs in the base. Meghan and Fletcher were on the roof, he was in a reclining lawn chair wearing a grey hoodie and jeans. Meghan was sitting next to him in a more traditional lawn chair. Wearing similar clothing. They were basking in their success.

"The sky sure is beautiful tonight" He spoke softly

"Mhm, it is" She matched his volume

He could tell something was on her mind, He looks over to her. "What's botherin' ya?" he asks

"Why did you let me get so close to you? You push everyone else away but you let me in why?" She asks her eyes bearing down on him for an explanation.

He chuckled in reply "Well I've been trying to figure that out myself. I honestly think it's because you didn't give me another option."

"What do you mean by that?" She asks intrigued

"Well you kind of stalked me when I first arrived and I couldn't ever be out of your sight for more than a few hours. You also very easy tells that you liked me. Lastly that bit you played like a fiddle, when you asked me to spend the 4th of July with you. I couldn't say no to you and the whole puppy dog eye routine. That's what I mean. You forced way in and I had no idea on how to deal with it." He replies with a charming smile.

Her cheeks start reddening from the slight embarrassment. She didn't really know how to reply to his answer. Which earned a snicker from him. "Actually I'm glad that you did, I know I have had attacks and I haven't slept well or even opened up a whole lot, I haven't felt really happy since you started cracking me open. I'm really happy we met" it was his turn to blush

She smiles at him "I'm glad we did too"

They smile at each other and shared a kiss. Fletcher really wanted to drop the ILY but he didn't want to have another attack nor did he want to label them as lovers just yet. The two sat on the roof spending their time together. Fletcher really did adore her but he just didn't know how to express that without feeling weak doing so. That was one more project Meghan would have to take on. They spent their remaining time on the roof. They didn't have to say a word to one another as they had talked enough. They just wanted to be in each other's company.

 **Location Unknown Time Unknown**

Taylor was on a boat fully outfitted with arms and ammunition, they were steaming for the east coast of the US. He sat in the bridge, his stomach was churning with anticipation just thinking about the op. His men were also feeling this anticipation but they were more than ready for the attack. Everything was going to go perfectly despite Rainbow being in the equation. John sat across the table from the leader of the terrorist organization.

"Are the teams ready?" Taylor asks looking at his cameras around the ship watching the men clean their rifles and a few cleaning up the mortars they had acquired for the support from their boats

"Yeah, they're foaming at the mouth ready to go. They'll be more vicious than ever before. We'll have our glory" John smiled slyly

"Good" Taylor replies quickly

"I will, we'll show those UN bastards who we really are." John replied

"How is their morale? Is Donny and his team in yet?" Taylor asks continuing to watch his monitors occasionally looking back to John.

"They are more than excited and in good spirits. They arrived this morning they will be in the stock exchange ahead of schedule they will wait until the first wave hits to fire up the jammer." John replied taking a drink of his water.

"Good, what about Keegan? Is he set up yet?" Taylor continues to interrogate

"Yeah, he and his teams have their hides and fortifications set up. The choppers are prepped fully loaded, the tank crews are ready their loading up as we speak. The reserve teams are prepping their kits. They will do their jobs to bitter end." John smiles at his employer.

Taylor gives a sinister smile "I'm glad to hear it, enjoy yourself while you can not everyone is going to make it out." Taylor was genuine with a smile.

"I will as will they, it's just the quiet before the storm right?" John asks with a smirk

Taylor answers with a nod. John leaves the office to join the men. Taylor was very happy with how everything had turned out he was more than excited for this attack. He threw the idea around that he was hosting the biggest attack on American soil. He knew his name would forever be infamous in world history right next to Bin Laden. _"Well, go big or go home right"_ he thought to himself. While this wasn't for fame it was interesting to him that he would forever mark one of the worst attacks in history. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, he needed all the sleep he could get. The next few days were going to be long and hard.

NYC was going to drown in blood.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys, I know it's been a while but the holiday season really screwed me up and kept me from writing. I also had to deal with a little bit of writer's block and a massive lack of motivation. I'm back now and i'm working on chapter 30 when things really heat up. I also want to let everyone know that thanks to my fiction writing class that I will be rewriting chapters 1 and 2 very soon, the other chapters will take some time but I will try to get them done after I'm done with a couple of chapters for the aftermath of NYC. I want to say thank you to everyone and Grim Gravy for being my beta reader. Seriously thank you!- S117**


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